National Police detain the masters of two boats that recently arrived on the coasts of Gran Canaria and Lanzarote

National Police officers have arrested five men in Gran Canaria and Lanzarote as alleged perpetrators of crimes favouring illegal immigration. Three of them are also charged with murder.

All of them were identified by the immigrants as those responsible for the management and navigation of the boats that recently arrived on the coasts of Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. In them, a total of 94 people travelled, 15 of whom were minors, without any type of security measure, life jackets, food or drink. Nine of the immigrants – three of them minors – died during the journey, and one more, also a minor, died after being admitted to a hospital in Gran Canaria due to the terrible conditions of the trip.

Several days of crossing

The victims sailed for days in boats whose security measures were insufficient to face this trip. Specifically, the boat arrived on March 16, spent 5 days sailing through the sea until it was rescued by the Maritime Rescue services and transferred to the island of Gran Canaria. In all cases, the immigrants stated upon arrival that they had paid between 1,500 and 2,500 euros per traveller and that they had to bring their own food and drink to survive during the journey.

A total of 62 immigrants travelled in the boat. Of them only 53 arrived, of which 10 were minors. Nine immigrants died during the journey, one of them just two years old. All the bodies of the deceased were thrown into the sea by the skippers of the boat. In addition, another 24-month-old girl was treated urgently and resuscitated by the toilets at the very moment of her arrival at the dock. Later, she was transferred to a hospital in the capital of Gran Canaria, where she died days later as a result of the terrible conditions of the trip and the days prior to departure.

Several of the immigrants told the National Police that they had been waiting for several days to be able to board a boat bound for the Canary Islands, during which they lacked enough food and drink, which weakened their health. Likewise, during the journey, they did not have basic sustenance for everyone, running out of the few stocks that were available on the third day, thus having to drink sea water.

The other boat reached the coast of Lanzarote on April 2. A total of 32 immigrants travelled in the boat, among which were 5 minors, all of them in apparent good health, who were transferred to the corresponding centre for assistance.

The agents of the National Police then began a police investigation that allowed to fully identify five of the members of both vessels as those allegedly responsible for their handling and navigation. The police investigations culminated in their arrest as alleged perpetrators of crimes favouring illegal immigration and, three of them, also for the crime of homicide. After investigating the corresponding police reports, they were made available to the competent judicial authorities, who ordered the entry into prison of four of them.