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Morocco’s security services thwarted two irregular migration operations on 30-31 December, 2021 in Tarfaya.
The operations led to the arrest of several individuals and the seizure of equipment used in irregular migration attempts.
The arrested would-be irregular migrants were trying to reach the Canary Islands through the Atlantic, according to local reports.
In the first operation, Moroccan authorities intercepted on Thursday a group of irregular migrants, including three women and a child. The group of migrants managed to flee the authorities, reports indicated.
Local authorities said the operation led to the seizure of an inflatable boat, a motorboat, and 4 drums of gasoline.
On the morning of December 31, 2021, authorities foiled the second attempt on the beach Bousseroual, near Akhfenir.
The second operation resulted in the seizure of an inflatable boat, 6 drums of gasoline, and a motorboat.
With Morocco becoming a popular transit country among Europe-bound irregular migrants, Morocco has stepped up its efforts to combat irregular migration and human trafficking on its coasts.
On November 25, 2021, the Royal Navy rescued in Laayoune a drifting inflatable boat with 59 Sub-Saharans on board, including the lifeless body of a Senegalese citizen, 8 women, and 2 minors.
Read also: The Complex Lives of Sub-Saharan Migrants in Morocco
On the same day near Tarfaya, also in southern Morocco, local authorities foiled a Canary Islands-bound irregular migration attempt. The operation led to the arrest of 30 sub-Saharans irregular migrants.
Moroccan authorities apprehended 466 people linked to 123 human trafficking networks in 2020 alone.
They also stopped 9,179 irregular migrants on their way to Europe, including 6,162 foreign nationals, from exiting Morocco.
Moroccan security forces arrested 27,317 would-be migrants in 2019, including 20,141 foreign nationals, according to official data.
Most observers now acknowledge that Morocco has indeed become a destination country for migrants. Still, the continued interception of the boats of Europe-bound irregular migrants off Moroccan coasts suggests many still view the North African country as a crossing point to the EU.
