The investigation began based on statements from the boat’s occupants who described the crossing as “a real nightmare”
Spanish police announced this Sunday the arrest of seven alleged human traffickers suspected of having murdered four migrants during a sea crossing, in November, towards the island of El Hierro, in the Canary archipelago.
According to a statement cited by the France-Presse agency (AFP), seven people were arrested while in an emergency reception center on the island of Tenerife, according to the Spanish Civil Guard.
The accused were “captains of a boat that arrived at the port of La Restinga, on the island of El Hierro, on November 3, with 207 migrants on board and in which they allegedly murdered four people two days before reaching the coast of Canaries”, specifies the Civil Guard.
The investigation began based on statements from the boat’s occupants who described the crossing as “a real nightmare”.
The investigations were able to determine that the canoe had initially left The Gambia and made a stop on the Senegalese island of Bassoul, where most of the migrants embarked.
After three days of sailing, three of the traffickers, responsible for maintaining order on the boat, decided to take retaliatory measures against several migrants.
According to the Civil Guard, one of the occupants, “probably affected by the harshness of the journey, had an episode of disorientation, which led the three captains to hold him responsible for the misfortunes of the journey, inflicting severe beatings on him, as well as those who defended him” .
In retaliation, the traffickers “decided to murder four of them to scare the remaining migrants”, continues this source.
Four of the three victims were identified and their families were informed of their deaths.
Among the group of immigrants who arrived in the Canary Islands during this crossing, one had to be transferred to the hospital where he underwent surgery after a chest injury, which may have been caused by a knife blow, according to Spanish police.
Spain is one of the three main immigration gateways to Europe, along with Italy and Greece.
The number of migrants entering the country irregularly through the Canaries has increased sharply in recent months.
Since the beginning of the week, around 10 boats with more than 500 people on board have been rescued in this archipelago, Spanish maritime rescuers announced on the social network X.
According to ministry data, 43,737 migrants landed in the Canaries between January and mid-December, compared to 36,888 throughout last year, an increase of 18.6%.
And since the beginning of the year, 60,216 migrants have entered Spain illegally by land or sea, according to authorities who have recorded numerous deaths during the crossings.
By 2024, more than 10,400 migrants will have died or disappeared at sea while trying to reach Spain, according to a report published on Thursday by the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras.
