Members of mafia behind fatal Costa Tropical migrant boat identified

Spanish and Morrocan police forces have managed to identify the five members of a human trafficking gang who were allegedly involved in the deaths of six people onboard a small boat whose bodies washed up in Gualchos-Castell de Ferro in March, according to a press release issued by the Guardia Civil. One of the criminals has already been arrested.

"The investigations led to the discovery that the migrants had embarked the previous morning from Al Hoceima beach on a boat equipped with three engines and crewed by three people," the statement said.

From that moment on, the exchange of information between the Guardia Civil and the Moroccan Gendarmerie was key to solving the case. In this sense, the investigators placed at the disposal of the prosecutor's office twelve people who had remained on land and were unable to make the crossing.

Thanks to their testimonies, it was possible to discover the identity of the alleged criminals, one of whom has already been arrested in Morocco. The other four are still wanted.

Seventeen people, including three minors, arrived at Gualchos-Castell de Ferro after crossing the Mediterranean on 15 March. Hours later, the rescue services pulled out of the sea the bodies of another three occupants and in the following days three more bodies washed up onto the shore.

The tactic of the mafias, who use powerful glider boats, is to stop shortly before reaching the shore and force passengers to make their own way to the beach.