A large-scale international police operation has broken up one of the largest criminal networks for maritime migrant trafficking in the Mediterranean. The group was smuggling people, drugs and weapons between Algeria and Spain, Africanews reports, citing Europol and the Spanish Civil Guard.
A total of 78 people were arrested in the operation - 77 in Spain and one in Algeria. Police seized 18 motorboats, drugs, satellite phones, a gun and more than 25,000 euros in cash.
According to the Spanish Civil Guard, the group was among the largest criminal organizations specializing in maritime human trafficking in the Mediterranean.
The network used a two-way route between Algeria and Spain. In one direction, drugs were transported to North Africa, while on the return journeys, the boats were packed with migrants who were transported to the Spanish coast.
Spanish authorities released footage of the operation, showing the arrests of suspects, as well as bundles of 50-euro notes found during searches.
The operation was announced just a week after tens of thousands of migrants headed for the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa, further exacerbating the migratory pressure along the western Mediterranean route.
The investigation shows that the criminal organization combined several types of illegal activity - human trafficking, drug and arms smuggling - using speedboats and communication equipment to coordinate the routes between the two shores of the Mediterranean.
The operation is among the most serious strikes against organized trafficking on the Algeria-Spain route in recent months and comes against the backdrop of increased control at the European Union's sea borders.