People smuggling gang busted
Police arrested 18 suspects in Almería, six in Alicante and two in Zaragoza
A GANG accused of running more than 900 illegal migrants into Spain from North Africa in high-speed boats during 2019 has been broken up by the National Police with the help of Europol.
A total of 26 suspects have been arrested.
A National Police spokesman reported that the gang – which was based in Alicante province, Almería and Algeria – made more than €1.5 million in just one year through the racket.
He noted that the would-be migrants were charged between €2,000 and €2,500 for the sea journey.
They were shuttled from Algeria and Morocco to beaches in the provinces of Almería and Cádiz
“The members of the gang operating in Spain were principally based in the provinces of Almería and Alicante,” explained the spokesman.
“They coordinated with their colleagues on the North African coast, who told them how many migrants would be arriving and when and where.”
The gang used very powerful boats which were able to cross the sea between the two continents in three hours.
They also had a ‘fleet of vehicles’ which would then take the migrants to cities around Spain including Almería, Alicante, Murcia, Barcelona, Tarragona and Lérida.
They were charged €500 for this onward journey and those who could not pay were left by the roadside or held against their will until family members handed over the cash.
Police arrested 18 suspects in Almería, six in Alicante and two in Zaragoza.
In raids on six properties, they seized €20,000 in cash, 17 vehicles, mobile phones and documentation.
According to Europol, there was a one-year waiting list for a three-hour speedboat journey.
They noted that the organisation increased its income by helping Moroccan migrants obtain residence permits through false complaints of gender-based violence.
For these services every woman paid €9,000.