Two investigations have dismantled, with the arrest of five people, two organizations allegedly dedicated to the illicit trafficking of migrants from Ceuta to the Peninsula, which used small boats and charged up to 9,000 euros.
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According to a statement released this Friday by the National Police, in one of the operations four people were arrested, two in Ceuta and two others in La Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz), who are charged with crimes of criminal organization and facilitation of irregular immigration.
In the second investigation, a man was arrested as an alleged member of an organization also dedicated to the illicit trafficking of people from Ceuta to the peninsula, who was sent to pretrial detention.
One of the investigations detected the activity of an organization operating between Ceuta and La Línea de la Concepción that transported shallow-draft boats from the Cádiz coast to the autonomous city to pick up people in irregular situations and then transfer them to the Peninsula.
The investigations began after the location of a ‘speedboat or hull’ type boat stranded on a rocky outcrop in the coastal area of Benzú, in Ceuta.
The inspection determined that it could have been recently used for this type of activity, showing signs and damage compatible with high-speed navigation, although it did not manage to transport migrants due to its stranding.
The members of this organization relied on intermediaries responsible for recruiting people in irregular situations coming from the massive swimming assault and offering them transfer from Ceuta to the Peninsula in exchange for an approximate amount of 9,000 euros.
The migrants stayed in homes, garages, or other waiting places until they were transferred to the meeting point with the boat.
The organization used support vehicles to make the trips discreetly and tried to avoid police surveillance areas.
Once the boat arrived from the Peninsula, boarding was carried out and the maritime journey to peninsular territory began, where other members of the group were responsible for receiving and later dispersing the migrants.
The organization also had people in charge of piloting the boats, to whom the leaders paid large sums of money.
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The pilots were selected for their experience in fast navigation and their ability to perform evasive maneuvers and avoid police controls.
In a second investigation, agents clarified the alleged participation of a man in a maritime crossing last August 14, in which seven people were transferred from Ceuta to the peninsular coast in a small boat without minimum safety conditions.
The seven occupants were intercepted around 4 a.m. on a beach area known as El Burgo, in La Línea de la Concepción, after having spent approximately five hours at sea and having traveled about 40 kilometers from Ceuta.
56,000 euros in a single trip
A witness revealed that the organizer charged 8,000 euros per person for managing illegal transfers from Ceuta, thus obtaining an estimated profit of 56,000 euros in a single trip with seven occupants.
The passengers, crowded in a five-meter-long and two-meter-wide boat, without safety measures, were left adrift in the Strait of Gibraltar.
The investigators also confirmed the absence of life jackets, the lack of adequate signaling and rescue means, and the presence of people with little or no swimming ability.
The trip was made entirely at night, with passengers approximately five hours at sea and covering about 40 kilometers in open waters from Ceuta to the peninsular coast.
According to witness statements, during the trip there was intense fog that made navigation difficult and considerably reduced the chances of being located by other boats in case of emergency.
The weather conditions, the state of the boat, and the absence of safety measures significantly increased the danger during the crossing, the Police detailed, noting that the passengers also had to endure the cold caused by wet clothes and the entry of water and waves into the boat.
The detainee was sent to pretrial detention for a crime against the rights of foreign citizens, and the possible concurrence of aggravating circumstances related to profit motive, the special vulnerability of the victims, and the danger to their life, health, or integrity is also being investigated.
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