Ceuta Smugglers’ Earnings Reveal Stark Income Disparities at Morocco-Spain Border

The figures were revealed by the local website El Faro de Ceuta, which looked into the earnings pocketed by Moroccans who live off smuggling between Morocco and the city of Ceuta. Today, there are tens of thousands of them practicing this trade that Moroccan customs only allow to locals.

The majority of the carriers work directly with Moroccan entrepreneurs established in Ceuta. Every morning, several trucks loaded with food are sent near the Tarajal border, where packages weighing sometimes 70 to 80 kilos are prepared for the carriers to transport on foot via Tarajal II. On the best days, they can pocket up to 45 euros but sometimes by making several trips.

The trips can also be made via "pateras cars", which can pocket 200 to 500 euros, depending on the merchandise and its weight. But a distinction must be made between the car owner and the driver. The car owner takes care of all the expenses (fuel, unexpected expenses...) and pays the driver and the people who help him load everything. In total, it is estimated that a thousand cars make daily round trips between Morocco and Ceuta and some of them would even belong, according to the same source, to Moroccan customs officers "who benefit from preferential treatment at the border".

The transport of goods can also be done by motorcycle. Until a few weeks ago, it was possible to transport a "textile package", but Morocco has definitively banned its import and motorcycle owners now transport food parcels. While they were paid up to 30 euros for the textile, they now only receive about 9 euros per trip.

But this "lucrative" trade at the border could disappear in the coming years, Morocco citing the situation of the smugglers (many deaths) and the estimated tax losses of several billion dirhams per year. But to do this, it must first find other activities as lucrative for the carriers as the transport of goods.