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Rabat- 230 sub-Saharan migrants seeking to cross to the Canary Islands were arrested Thursday in Laayoune and Tarfaya, southern Morocco, local authorities reported Saturday.
“The Royal Navy rescued Thursday evening in Laayoune’s south of the port a drifting inflatable boat with 59 Sub-Saharans on board, including the lifeless body of a Senegalese citizen, 8 women and 2 minors,” authorities said.
The same day near Tarfaya, also in southern Morocco, local authorities foiled a Canary Islands-bound irregular migration attempt involving 120 sub-Saharans, 30 of whom were arrested, the same statement indicated.
The migrants were then taken to the nearby police station for investigation.
In Laayoune, police arrested 35 individuals who were getting ready to board a Spain-bound inflatable boat. Amid an increase in arrivals to the Canary Islands, many migrants have been arrested in recent weeks in the southern Moroccan region of Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra.
Morocco has intensified efforts against irregular migration and human trafficking operations off its coats.
Although Moroccan security services have foiled many migration attempts and saved at sea hundreds of thousands of migrants, the extremely risky and perilous sea journey to Europe still claims the lives of hundreds every year.
In 2020 alone, Moroccan police detained 466 suspects with links to 123 human trafficking networks.
They also prevented 9,179 Europe-bound irregular migrants, including 6,162 of foreign nationalities, from leaving Morocco.
Official data additionally indicate that Moroccan security services arrested 27,317 would-be migrants in 2019, including 20,141 foreign nationals.
Read Also: Morocco Aborts 3 Irregular Migration Attempts to Canary Islands
Moroccans represented 26% of those arrested while trying to illegally immigrate to Europe.
In 2019, Morocco aborted more than 74,000 undocumented migration attempts.
All services, including the royal navy, the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), and the National Directorate of National Security (DGSN) regularly collaborate to combat irregular migration, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and other criminal activities.
