Marruecos intercepta una patera con la mitad de los ocupantes egipcios y yemeníes

On Saturday, the Moroccan police intercepted a boat in Agadir, in the south of the country, with 20 migrants who were preparing to leave for the Canary Islands, the police said in a statement.

The novelty of this patera is that nine of its occupants were originally from Egypt and Yemen, two nationalities that usually appear on other migration routes closer to their countries. The other half of the passengers were Moroccans.

Four people have been arrested as organizers of this clandestine journey and are to be tried for "clandestine emigration operation" and "human trafficking".

They were found to be in possession of six life jackets (for 20 passengers), several mobile phones and an amount of money in national currency and foreign exchange.

The Atlantic coasts that run from Agadir to Dakhla in the south of Western Sahara have become the main departure area for boats on the so-called "Canary Island route" since last year, to the detriment of the "Mediterranean route", which is shorter and safer, but also more closely monitored by the Moroccan police.

In 2020, more than 23,000 illegal arrivals of African migrants were recorded in the Canary Islands, of which more than half were Moroccans and the rest were mainly Senegalese, Malians and Guineans.