Rabat – Police in Oujda, eastern Morocco, opened a judicial investigation on Thursday, September 19, into a criminal network allegedly involved in irregular migration.
The investigation comes after security services arrested irregular migrants, two Moroccan women and 90 sub-Saharan nationals, on Thursday.
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The list of migrants included 7 women and 15 minors.
The General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) said in a statement that the suspects they arrested are involved in organizing irregular migration to Europe.
Police also seized travel documents, some of which belong to the arrested individuals and migrants.
Police put the suspects in custody to question them about their involvement in irregular migration. Investigators are also seeking to determine possible links with other criminal networks, the statement added.
Morocco has been under pressure to reduce irregular migration and has dismantled several irregular migration networks.
Government Spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi said on August 29 that Moroccan security services had stopped 57,000 irregular migration attempts in 2019.
He added that authorities also dismantled 100 irregular migration networks.
The Moroccan government also emphasized the importance of shared responsibility in tackling migration and border issues.
On August 23, the acting Spanish government approved a €32 million grant to back Morocco’s efforts to curb irregular migration. The grant is in addition to financial aid from the European Union estimated at more than €140 million.
