Police in Spain have arrested five people accused of charging migrants thousands of dollars to take them to mainland Europe from Ceuta, the Spanish territory in northern Africa that has seen a deadly migrant rush.
The alleged traffickers charged migrants up to $10,500 to transport them by boat from Ceuta to the Iberian peninsula, Spanish police said in a statement.
An estimated 72,000 irregular migrants entered the small enclave in late July, swimming or crossing on foot from neighbouring Morocco in a chaotic influx that left scores dead and sparked European Union infighting over the touchy issue of migration.
Four of those arrested belonged to a trafficking network that intercepted irregular migrants, housed them in residences or garages in Ceuta, then took them across the Strait of Gibraltar to southern Spain, police said.
“Boat drivers were selected for their experience navigating fast and their ability to take evasive manoeuvres and dodge police checks,” the statement said.
Police did not say how many migrants were involved.
Two suspects were detained in Ceuta and two in Linea de la Concepcion, in Spain’s Andalusia region.
A fifth suspect was jailed pending trial for allegedly charging seven migrants €8,000 each to transport them in a small boat lacking “minimum safety standards” on the night of August 14, police said.
Most of the migrants who entered Ceuta in July have returned to Morocco.
But thousands remain, sleeping on the street or the beach.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government has announced the launch of temporary centres to relieve the small city’s overwhelmed shelter system.
