Up to 9,000 euros: what the mafias charge to transfer migrants from Ceuta
The police arrest five people for organizing trips on boats without any safety
BarcelonaIn a straight line between Ceuta and Algeciras or La Línea de la Concepción there are about 30 kilometers and, by ferry, the journey does not take more than an hour and a bit. But the humanitarian crisis following the massive entry of July 30 and 31 has turned these journeys into a lucrative business for mafias, who take advantage of the desperation of migrants living precariously in Ceuta and charge them up to 9,000 euros per person to get on a raft or inflatable boat. Although the route has lost the importance it had in the 90s due to police pressure and Moroccan control, the latest data from the Ministry of the Interior indicate a 16% increase in irregular maritime entries to the Peninsula, while departures to the Canary Islands are falling by 60%, awaiting what will happen from the autumn when the sea state improves.
The National Police have arrested five people who are part of two organizations dedicated to the illicit trafficking of people from Ceuta to the Peninsula. They are all charged with belonging to a criminal organization and facilitating irregular immigration. Two of the arrests took place in La Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz) and two more in Ceuta, according to the police force in a statement.
The clue that led the agents to the detainees was the location of a fast boat beached in a rocky area on the coast of Benzú, in Ceuta. Following the inspection, it was determined that it had been used recently, but no migrants had boarded it. Before boarding, the migrants who had paid 9,000 euros were housed in houses or garages until they were transferred to the meeting point to set sail. Once in the Peninsula, a group awaited them and distributed them.
In the early morning of August 14, a very rudimentary boat was found with seven people on board when they were about to reach the beach of La Línea de la Concepción, after having spent five hours at sea without the minimum safety conditions, neither with life jackets nor signaling devices. One of the witnesses explained that the trip organizer had charged 8,000 euros for a single trip. An astronomical profit.