Arrests of small boat skippers, as Balearic Government demands tougher measures against 'mafias'

The time for 'do-gooding', the government believes, is over

Small boat intercepted off Mallorca

One of the boats intercepted this month | Photo: Ministry of the Interior

| Palma |

Since the start of June, the security forces have arrested four skippers of migrant boats that have arrived in the Balearics. Two of the arrests were made on June 16 and relate to the interception of a boat off the Llucmajor coast on June 10. On June 2, a joint Guardia Civil and National Police operation in Ibiza resulted in two arrests. These arrests were on top of four others in April.

All those arrested have appeared in court and been remanded in custody with the exception of a minor who was detained on June 16. His case is currently being considered by the Prosecutor's Office for minors.

For several weeks, the security forces have been warning about the arrival of overcrowded boats with insufficient resources. The discovery of several bodies of migrants with hands and feet tied has given investigations added significance.

The boat in Llucmajor had apparently been adrift for two days. The National Police report that the boat was severely overweight due to the number of people on board and was not equipped with any safety equipment other than a life jacket with a small whistle. There were only a few cans of fuel, just the one engine (which had failed), three five-litre bottles of water, some dates and sugar for the 22 people on the boat. There were 17 men, four women and one minor. They were all Somali with the exception of two people from South Sudan.

The journey on a boat barely six metres long had lasted four days. Halfway through, the weather had changed and they had lost their way. Fuel cans ruptured, causing burns to those on board as well as soaking food and phones.

Following the April operation in Ibiza, the National Police stated that journeys were "dangerous to the life and safety of passengers, with passengers often adrift at sea for several days due to the fragility and poor condition of the vessels and engines" "The gangs seek only financial gain and with no regard for the safety of people." The cost per person to make these journeys is said to be the equivalent of up to 10,000 euros.

The increasing numbers of bodies that are being found point to a lack of safety and to accidents. But investigators are now considering a different issue - the reason for the bodies with bound hands and feet. Tensions on board are one possibility. To human trafficking is now added another crime.

The president of the Balearics, Marga Prohens, says the government is "very concerned and shocked" by the discovery of bodies in recent weeks. "This is the cruellest aspect of something we have been denouncing for some time. The images and the news chill us all. Mafias take advantage of these humanitarian dramas."

Prohens is demanding protection of the borders and "a radical change in foreign and immigration policy to put an end to this migration tragedy". She is calling on the Spanish Government to increase the number of Guardia Civil and National Police officers on the islands and for "tougher measures against the mafias". "The 'do-gooding' is over."

Related
Most Viewed