5 people nabbed over alleged ties with illegal immigration, police say

Nador Police services arrested, on Thursday on the basis of accurate information by the directorate general of national territory surveillance, five people in Nador (north) and nearby areas over suspicions of links with a criminal network operating in illegal immigration and human trafficking.

The operation was conducted in coordination with the national police services and security services, and the Spanish national police. It is a confirmation of the security cooperation relations between the two countries in terms of combating all forms of cross-border crime, said the national police (DGSN).

The operation led to the arrest, red-handed, of a transportation bus driver wanted nationally for facilitating illegal immigration while he was carrying five sub-Saharan individuals, said the police in a statement, noting that in-depth investigations helped to apprehend four other accomplices from Nador and neighboring commune of Bni oukil over suspicions of being linked to the same network operating in the country's northern shores.

The search operation enabled to seize means of transportation and equipment used in illegal immigration, including 9 inflatable boats, 12 engines for these boats, as well as 2 cars and mechanical and electronic sea navigation parts, according to the same source.

The suspects were remanded in police custody to complete the probe led under the supervision of the competent public prosecutor's office to shed light on the ramifications of the network, whether in Morocco or in Spain, and nab all involved culprits, the statement concluded.