NYN | News
Spanish police announced on Monday the dismantling of an international human smuggling network that specialized in trafficking migrants—mostly Yemenis—to the United Kingdom and Canada. The network used forged passports and fake travel documents, which were handed over at European airports after the migrants had obtained refugee status in Greece.
According to the security statement, the network carried out over 40 smuggling operations, charging up to €3,000 per migrant to facilitate their arrival at the intended destinations. The announcement comes amid repeated warnings from Canadian authorities about attempts to enter the country illegally via Spanish territory using fake identities.
These developments come as migrant tragedies continue to mount. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced in recent hours that at least 68 African migrants have died and 74 others are missing after a boat capsized in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Abyan province in southern Yemen.
The IOM’s chief of mission in Yemen, Abdussattar Yusoofev, told the Associated Press that the boat was carrying 154 Ethiopian migrants, of whom only 12 were rescued—marking one of the deadliest maritime disasters so far this year.
These incidents highlight the growing scope of human trafficking and the exploitation of poverty and desperation, amid the absence of comprehensive and effective solutions to irregular migration—a crisis that continues to unfold across multiple routes.
