Rabat – Moroccan police in Tarfaya, a coastal town in western Morocco, thwarted four irregular migration attempts to the Canary Islands on January 3.
Local security services announced that police had intervened in separate operations, leading to the interception of 250 irregular migrants.
Police arrested 85 individuals and seized four zodiac boats, four motorcycles, and a large quantity of gasoline. The arrests constituted the first operation between the commune of Akhfenir and the locality of Naila in the province of Tarfaya.
The same source stated that local authorities organized another operation, where they arrested the rest of the 250 irregular migrants as well as the human traffickers who organized the migration attempt.
Authorities in western Morocco have intensified their efforts to dismantle irregular migration attempts to the Canary Islands. During the operations, several people were rescued from drifting boats.
Since 2017, Morocco’s security services have prevented over 14,000 irregular migration attempts, dismantled over 5,000 trafficking networks, and rescued over 85,500 migrants at sea, according to official data from the Moroccan government.
Irregular migration attempts are prevalent in northern Morocco as well, given the country’s geographic proximity with Spain. A day before New Year’s Eve, the North African country prevented a group of 30 irregular Moroccan migrants from entering the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
This attempt is one of many that took place in northern Morocco last year, leading to Moroccan authorities increasing efforts to tackle the long-existing issue.
Morocco has been intensifying efforts against human trafficking. In 2021 alone, Moroccan police dismantled 150 criminal networks active in organizing irregular migration.
Read Also: Morocco Prevents 30 Moroccans From Entering Spanish Enclave of Ceuta
