Illegal operators have found a more modern, faster and a lot more expensive way to transport migrants from Africa to Europe by smuggling them on high-speed jet skis for more than $3,500 fees per person.
The hopeful but illegal migrants are being whisked on a scary nine-mile journey across the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain.
There’s a footage that emerged showing several migrants being left at Ceuta, a Spanish territory north of Morocco. Traffickers are also dumping the migrants close to shore and abandoning them so they could be rescued by coastguards. They have to be sent back, though.
Coastguards saved 12 men from the waters but one died. The casualty, a 28-year-old man from Guinea drowned before he could be dropped off on the coast of Ceuta.
The illegal gangs also charge nearly $500 to take migrants on dinghies. Jetskis have proven to be the most efficient mode of transportation for their criminal activity. The jet skis allow the gangs to smuggle migrants to their point of destination in less than half an hour, also allowing them to make more trips.
The video shows the migrants getting off on the shore by the small settlement of Benzu.
Spanish rescue workers saved 11 other refugees from a boat. There were also photos of the migrants rescued from the shore sit on the sand near Benzu.
Nine smugglers were seen taking part in the illegal operation that left a dozen jetski-riding sub-Saharan Africans near a beachside cafeteria. They quickly escaped after dropping off the migrants.
The smugglers were not apprehended. The fresh arrival of migrants happened only days after another boat full of African immigrants dramatically landed on a Spanish beach, to the surprise of many holidaymakers out enjoying a popular tourist destination. The illegal migrants managed to leave the beach before authorities arrived.
Ceuta and Melilla have the EU’s only land borders with Africa and as such are being used as entry points for people desperate to get to Europe and escape life in Africa. They attempt to climb the high double border fences, swim along the coast or hide in vehicles crossing the frontier.
The International Organization for Migration warned Spain recently that it could overtake Greece this year in the number of illegal migrants arriving by sea. Already, 8,200 people arrived this year, triple the number from last year.
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