Dangerous gang that smuggled Syrian and Algerian migrants into the EU busted in south of Spain

The organisation allegedly smuggled more than 200 migrants into the country with the cost of the journey ranging from 7,000 euros and up to 20,000 euros for the VIP service

SUR

Malaga

Tuesday, 4 July 2023, 18:33

A criminal organisation that smuggled Syrian and Algerian migrants into Almeria in the south of Spain and demanded between 7,000 and 20,000 per person for the journey has been smashed.

Spanish National Police officers, in an operation coordinated by Europol and German and Norwegian authorities dismantled the dangerous international group which had cells in Sudan, Liberia and Almeria, and was also allegedly involved in drug trafficking, arms and money laundering.

The migrants were smuggled into Spain from Algeria by high-speed boats. The people operating the boats would carry firearms, police said. According to investigators, the group carried out at least 13 trafficking operations in which the organisation is said to have transferred more than 200 migrants. The cost of the journey ranged from 7,000 to 20,000 euros per person.

Police arrested 15 people, nine in Almeria, six in Roquetas de Mar (Almería) and one in Malaga, with 13 of those arrested being sent to prison.

From Libya and Spain

The criminal organisation had two management centres based in Libya and Spain. From the North African country, they managed the recruitment of Syrian citizens in their country of origin and their transfer to Libya, passing through Sudan or Lebanon, and providing them with the necessary documentation for the trip.

Once in Libya, they stayed in the organisation's secure flats until they were transferred to Algeria, where they were again sheltered in flats controlled by the network until they left for Spain.

The branch established in Spain specialised in the transfer of migrants in fast boats from Algeria.

VIP service

The network offered a VIP service to those who requested it. The service included disembarking at a different point on the coast from the rest of the migrants, from where they were taken in high-end vehicles under heavy security measures.

The organisation deployed important security and counter-surveillance measures. On the landing beaches, they set up devices to detect police presence, organised surveillance patrols, used high-capacity vehicles for the transfer of migrants and had farms and warehouses with video surveillance to hide the boats.

Thirteen homes were searched in Malaga and Almeria, where 522,710 euros and 1,200 dollars in cash were seized, as well as a pistol, two high-speed boats, two outboard motors, 575 litres of fuel, seven vehicles, 200 grams of hashish, 42 mobile phones and two satellite phones, two computers, a tablet and various documents.

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