In Spain, police have uncovered a large-scale network involved in the smuggling of migrants and drugs
On August 7, Spanish police announced that they had dismantled a large-scale criminal network involved in the illegal smuggling of migrants and drugs. Law enforcement officials are conducting an investigation and identifying all those involved in the group’s activities.
Investigators believe the group may have been involved in at least 64 operations to smuggle migrants, during which more than 2,000 people were brought to Spain, generating profits of over 24 million euros.
During the operation, law enforcement officers arrested 78 people and seized 18 high-speed boats.
This network likely used these vessels to transport synthetic drugs, such as ecstasy, from Spain to Algeria, and on the return trip, to illegally transport migrants to Spain’s Mediterranean coast and the island of Ibiza.
Police noted that the sea crossings were “extremely dangerous.”
“In some cases, passengers were even tied down to prevent them from falling into the water during the journey,” law enforcement officials said.
According to the police, the network charged up to 12,000 euros per person transported, with some operations carrying up to 50 migrants per trip, Euronews reports.
As a reminder, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reported that most of the migrants who illegally entered the Spanish autonomous city of Ceuta have already returned to Morocco. According to her, none of them reached mainland Spain or other European Union countries.
Thousands of people breached the Spanish border in Ceuta: why the new migration crisis began and what Madrid plans to do.
Spain has reported an exodus of migrants from Ceuta.
