Algerian authorities dismantle network of migrant smugglers to Europe
Two Cameroonian migrants at the Canastel roundabout in Oran, the starting point for Mediterranean crossings to Europe (Illustration image). © RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
This network had 15 members, 9 Syrians and six Algerians. All were arrested by the Central Service for the Fight against Organized Crime (SCLCO) and presented Wednesday, March 22 before the court. The investigation lasted, according to the authorities, nearly five months.
Advertising
Read more
Algerian police were able to trace the network that transported migrants from Syria and Lebanon who flew to Benghazi airport in eastern Libya, and then were driven by road to Ghadamès, a Libyan town bordering Algeria.
From there, according to details provided by Algerian media, the migrants are smuggled to the Algerian border town of Al Debdab, taking desert paths.
Large sums seized
The members of this network then transported migrants to the coastal city of Oran, a large metropolis located in western Algeria. The candidates for departure are gathered in this city and await the clandestine crossing to Europe. Not without having paid "exorbitant" sums in foreign currency to traffickers. During this operation, the police seized more than $11,000, €8,920 and sums in Lebanese and Syrian pounds.
Algerian authorities systematically announce the dismantling of active networks from Oran, which has become one of the preferred destinations for African or Middle Eastern migrants seeking to reach Europe.
► READ ALSO: Migration to Italy increases despite the security policy of the Tunisian authorities
Newsletter Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Read on on the same topics:
- Algeria
- International migration