MADRID (AP) – Spanish police say they have arrested three people in connection with the death of five migrants who were threatened with a machete and forced to jump from a boat they were traveling on with dozens of others in November. authorities announced on Monday.
The five people died off the coast south of Cadiz on November 29, police said. Police announced earlier this month that two men and a woman had been arrested, but did not provide further details.
Smugglers kill again: Migrant boat sinks on Greek island of Lesvos, killing 4 peoplehttps://t.co/wd22UIzLh4
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 28, 2023
The smugglers threatened the five with machetes and forced them to jump into the Atlantic Ocean despite strong currents and cold temperatures.
Thirty-seven migrants were traveling by boat from Kenitra, Morocco. The statement said the migrants paid between 3,000 euros ($3,270) and 12,000 euros ($13,000) to sit on the boat.
Video footage from November showed many other migrants being forcibly removed from the ship as they approached land, before the smugglers sped away in a powerful vessel. Police said they later found a boat and some documents that helped them track down the three suspects.
Four of the bodies were recovered within hours, and the fifth was found several days later. The migrants were identified with the help of DNA samples from Moroccan family members.
Every year, tens of thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan countries attempt to reach Spain in large open boats that depart from northwest Africa. The majority head to the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, but others from Morocco, Algeria and Middle Eastern countries cross the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean to mainland Spain.
Thousands die during the perilous journey.
Smugglers kill again in Mediterranean, five drownedhttps://t.co/nKLSr01kZN
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 13, 2023
