The Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohammed Abdeljalil, reacted on Monday to the opposition’s criticism in the House of Representatives about the rise in boat ticket prices between Spain and Morocco, explaining that this increase is due to global inflation.
As of Sunday, July 9, a total of 419,500 Moroccans living abroad and more than 101,000 vehicles have transited through the Spanish ports as part of the Marhaba 2023 Operation.
This year’s Operation Strait Crossing (OPE), launched on June 15, records a slight decrease in the number of passengers and vehicles crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, compared to last year.
The flow of Moroccans from Europe passing through Algeciras to go to Morocco as part of the Marhaba Operation has increased considerably compared to last year, reaching nearly 70,000 in just two weeks.
The Audiencia Nacional has refused to extradite to Morocco a Moroccan accused of having helped a Spanish criminal, sentenced to 58 years in prison for murder, to leave Algeciras (Cádiz) and take refuge in Morocco.
A man of Moroccan origin residing in Spain, wanted for homicide and sexual offenses in Belgium, was apprehended this Tuesday morning at the maritime station of Ceuta. He was about to board a ferry to the peninsula with his vehicle.
The port of Algeciras recorded the arrival of 20,785 passengers and 5,121 vehicles on Saturday as part of the Marhaba 2023 Operation. Since June 15, the start date of the Operation, 37,154 vehicles have already transited to Morocco, an increase of 58.5% compared to last year.
The sub-delegate of the Spanish government in Cadiz, José Pacheco, announced on Friday that travelers with a pre-purchased ticket will be given priority for boarding at the ports of Algeciras and Tarifa as part of the Marhaba Operation.
Baleària has decided to strengthen its activity with Morocco as part of this year’s Marhaba Operation. With its thirteen ships, the shipping company plans to make 200 weekly connections to Ceuta, Melilla, Tanger Med and Nador during the period from June 15 to September 15.
The agents of the National Police of Algeciras arrested a Moroccan who was transporting about two tons of hashish hidden in different parts of his truck.
Criminal networks are using the logistics serving the hashish traffic from Morocco to the Netherlands via Spain for cocaine trafficking. This is revealed by the 2023 report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The preparations for the Operation Crossing the Strait (OPE) have been launched by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, which expects a significant flow of passengers and vehicles between June 15 and September 15. The ports of Algeciras and Tarifa will play a central role in this operation.