Spanish Court Upholds Prison Sentences for Moroccan Migrant Trafficking Ring

The court has confirmed the conviction of the network leader to a sentence of four years in prison and the two other defendants, considered his accomplices, to a sentence of two years each. They are convicted of migrant trafficking in Melilla, which earned them around 8,000 euros. "There is no doubt that the proven facts constitute a crime of illegal immigration, aggravated by endangering the lives of persons or the risk of causing serious injury," explained the TSJA.

Two of the three defendants had appealed the decision of the Provincial Court of Malaga, which had sentenced them to the same sentences and for the same crime, recalls Europa Press. The events took place on May 2, 2019, when one of the defendants, accompanied by his wife, his accomplice, left Morocco to go to Melilla in a car. During the inspection of the vehicle at the Beni-Ensar border post, the Civil Guard agents found three sub-Saharan migrants inside.

The third defendant is the owner of the seized vehicle. At the provincial traffic headquarters in Melilla, "more than 430 vehicles are registered in his name as owner." Between January 2014 and March 2019, he was arrested five times for violations of the rights of foreign citizens. In a WhatsApp conversation on April 30, 2019, and presented to the court, the three defendants discussed the details of the operation and specified the day of departure from Morocco to Melilla.