Moroccan Porter Dies at Melilla Border Amid Smuggling Crackdown

A woman, whose age has not been revealed, died of a heart attack, following the seizure of her goods by the customs services, at the border post of Melilla. The incident occurred last Saturday evening, February 29, creating a state of panic among the customs officers and great emotion among the dozens of porters.

The information having circulated quickly among the hundreds of porters operating at the level of the two enclaves, the latter did not hesitate to express their anger towards the authorities, protesting against their difficult socio-economic situation since the announcement of the closure of the borders.

Taken unilaterally on the Moroccan side and without consultation with the Spanish authorities, the closure of the Ceuta and Melilla crossing points would have dealt a severe blow to businesses, deprived of goods from Morocco, and to the thousands of "hamalas", whose future has not yet been the subject of any concrete action on the part of the Moroccan government.