travel in pateras-taxi reach illegally Europe by 5,000 euros. It is the business of illegal immigration controlled by the mafiaswho, in addition to trafficking drugs, have been crossing the strait for some time with immigrants on board their narcolanchas. They come out of Algeria and reach the coast of Almeria in fairness 15 minutes. It is the most used migratory route. And also the deadliest.
THE operation Flixite of the Civil Guard culminated in February 2023 with the dismantling of a criminal network who came to present 700 illegal immigrants in Spain using Almería as a base port. This is how they kneaded it 3.5 million euros. Now the Almeria Court sentenced 13 of the 19 detainees. LEDthe leader of the plot and main accused, was sentenced to six years in prison. Five of those arrested could not be tried because they are fleeing justice.
The organization made the most of the trips: on the trip from Spain to Algeria, they transported stolen items in our country mainly cell phones and drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine or amphetaminerare narcotics in this African country. During the trip from the Maghreb to the Andalusian coast, they returned with illegal immigrants, between 10 and 15 per trip. Later they hosted slums before facilitating its transit through Spanish territory until reaching France.
“Operation Flixita”
The investigations carried out by the Judicial Police of the Civil Guard Command of Almería revealed a network that favored the illegal immigration of people from Algeria and their subsequent disembarkation on the national territory, escaping any type of control Spanish authorities. They even synchronized severals simultaneous taxi boat departures cwith the aim of overwhelm the work of Civil Guard and make it difficult to intercept.
According to the judgment, those interviewed created a “structured, concatenated and temporally stable” system in which everyone assumes a defined role to offer the pack complete: reception of immigrants, facilitating their disembarkation, hiding in properties owned by the network and subsequent transfer to the French border. All this in exchange for between approximately 4,000 and 5,000 eurosdepending on the type of service.
LEDthe leader of the organization was the one who maintained direct contact with the trip organizers. Once informed of the date, time of departure and disembarkation point taxi boats from Algeria, coordinated the rest of the group and distributed the money.
Among his main collaborators was the accused responsible for collecting immigrants to transfer them to a slumwhere they were collected by LED. Another man was responsible for controlling and guarding immigrants in a detention center. Murciain which they remained until they were transported to the border with France.
The rest of the accused collaborated to a lesser extent in the collection, concealment and transfer of immigrants who, when they could not cross the border, immediately remained in a hotel of another of the accused.
During Operation Flixita, 19 people were arrested in different locations across Almeria and Tarragona. They intervened 17 boatstwo vehicles, more than 48,000 euros in cash, 90,000 ecstasy pills, more than 600 grams of cocaine high purity and various mobile devices.
In addition to the six years in prison imposed on the leader of the group, the Almeria Court He imposed four and a half years in prison on three other convicts, two and a half years and fines on two others, eight months in prison on three others, one year and eight months on another, one year on two others placed in prison. examination and a fine for another member of the conspiracy. Another accused was acquitted because it has not been proven that it was transporting immigrants. Five of those arrested a year and a half ago they didn’t sit on the bench accused when they find themselves in a situation of rebellion.
