About 200 cars out of more than a thousand dedicated to porterage belong "to security agents and customs". This is revealed by the report of the Parliamentary Commission on the "persistence of smuggling" at Bab Ceuta . Another important information is that a new police hierarchy is now responsible for control at this border post.
The measures put in place to fight smuggling in Sebta and Melilla are a boon for operators specialized in the distribution of consumer products. But we will have to remain vigilant, because part of the traffic has shifted to new circuits.
For a few days now, information has been circulating on social media about the closure of the Spanish enclave Ceuta to Moroccan nationals starting this Monday, January 13.
A smuggler was sentenced to 10 months in prison for assaulting a customs officer in Bab Sebta. This is the verdict handed down by the court of first instance of Tetouan .
While Morocco and Spain are at loggerheads over the planned end of the smuggling trade in Sebta and Melilla, Moroccan smugglers, in particular the "mule women" as well as the Spaniards, are suffering.
The definitive closure of Bab Sebta is a major concern for the government. However, the many implications that such a decision must take into account require that it be well thought out.
Calm has returned to Fnideq following the departure of smugglers and their families. Indeed, the Moroccan authorities have decided to close the Tarajal II border, a smuggling corridor between the city of Ceuta and Fnideq.
The Northern Observatory for Human Rights (ONDH) denounced the decision of the Moroccan government to soon restore the situation of the Bab Sebta border crossing.
The Tarajal II (Sebta) border post has already been closed for three months on the decision of the Spanish and Moroccan authorities. The scale of the smuggling traffic and the disorder it creates at the border posts on both sides do not seem to argue in favor of a reopening.
According to unofficial estimates, the turnover generated by smuggling between Morocco and the two cities of Ceuta and Melilla would amount to several billion dirhams per year.
The border crossings of Ceuta and Melilla would have been permanently closed by the Moroccan authorities, according to information relayed by Spanish media.
The scene resembles a Hollywood movie sequence. A truck loaded with contraband goods was chased by Moroccan customs elements on the Fez highway.