Illegal immigration: 47 Moroccans arrested

A makeshift boat transporting 47 Moroccan would-be emigrants was intercepted, Thursday, by the Spanish Guardia Civil offshore Andalusia coasts (south of Spain), 6 miles of the town of Motril, said Spanish police sources.

The boat, which was detected by the efficient integrated surveillance system (SIVE), was carrying a women and several minors among the 47 illegal emigrants.

Early Thursday morning, the Guardia Civil had intercepted a dinghy transporting 61 Moroccan illegal emigrants, as well as a second dinghy carrying about 40 emigrants from the sub-Saharan region.

Thousands of illegal emigrants risk their lives annually to cross to Europe on flimsy boats, which compelled Spain and Morocco to make of the crack down on illegal emigration one of their top priorities.

In 2004, Rabat aborted over 26,000 attempts of illegal emigration and dismantled 423 human smuggling networks.