Moroccan navy intercepts eight migrants en route to Spain

The Moroccan navy announced on Monday the arrest of eight illegal immigrants while sailing on a rubber boat off the coast of Spain.

A source in the Moroccan navy told Anadolu news agency that a boat carrying eight African migrants was intercepted in the Moroccan territorial waters while heading towards the Spanish coast.

The source added that the migrants were transferred to the port of Tangier, north of the country, and were handed over to the competent security authorities to take legal action against them.

Moroccan and Spanish authorities have continuous communication and cooperation including crossing into each others territorial waters to intercept illegal migrants who flock to various points across the Straits of Gibraltar.

According to data from the International Organization for Migration, the total number of African migrants who arrived in Spain from the coast of Morocco, reached about 10,276 people since the beginning of 2017 until the 6 September.