Nine Members of a Moroccan Network that Organized Migrant Trips and Forged Documents Go on Trial

The “boss” kept telephone contact with criminal groups in Morocco and could charge up to €4,000 per migrant

The Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife will hear next week a trial against an organization composed of nine individuals, all of Moroccan origin, that arranged migrant journeys to the Canary Islands and from the archipelago to the rest of Spain.

According to the indictment obtained by Europa Press, two men headed the network and acted as intermediaries with criminal groups that organized boat departures from the African coasts.

The scheme involved bringing passports and identity documents to the Canary Islands “in a parallel and covert manner.” For this additional service the organization charged migrants between €600 and €1,000 per person, promising to facilitate their exit from Spain to third EU states either by using those documents or by producing new ones.

The indictment also reveals that many under‑age individuals detained in juvenile centers were recruited, and their forged documentation was used to move them to other Spanish provinces.

Although the “boss” maintained contact with criminal groups in Morocco, the price per migrant varied; in some cases the fee reached €4,000.

Two members were responsible for recruiting migrants on the islands who wanted to leave, while another handled the transfer of the migrants’ original passports so they would not be taken on the dangerous boat crossings.

The remaining participants assisted with purchasing airline tickets, collecting fees, and delivering the forged paperwork.

To avoid detection, the leader used up to four different identities and sometimes accompanied migrants on trips, giving them instructions to stay hidden and ensuring the return of the illegal documents for reuse with other newly recruited migrants.

Payments for the forged services were made, among other methods, directly in Africa, with cash deposits into bank accounts held by the organization’s leaders—amounts of more than €20,000 have been identified.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office argues that the conduct constitutes a crime against the rights of foreign nationals by facilitating irregular immigration, as well as a continuing offense of falsifying public documents. It is seeking cumulative sentences of up to 34 years for all members of the network and the seizure of the money found in their bank accounts.