Morocco is both a destination and a transit country for irregular migrants.
Rabat – Judiciary police of the city of Oujda, eastern Morocco arrested 111 suspects for irregular migration on the morning of Tuesday, October 29. The migrants all originate from sub-Saharan African countries and allegedly intended to cross the Mediterranean.
The group included 27 women, six minors, and five infants.
Investigations conducted by the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) led to the arrest of a 35-year-old woman, suspected of hosting irregular migrants in a rented apartment. Police also made arrests as part of an operation to dismantle the human trafficking network.
The operation is in line with the DGSN’s aims to control irregular migration.
Morocco, thanks to its geographic location, is a major irregular migration hub for people seeking to reach Europe. In August, Morocco’s government announced that authorities aborted 57,000 irregular migration attempts in 2019.
In September, police in Oujda dismantled a criminal network involved in irregular migration. Police arrested two Moroccan women and 90 sub-Saharan nationals. The list of migrants included seven women and 15 minors.