Agents of the National Police in Ibiza have arrested seven men as alleged perpetrators of a crime of favoringillegal immigration from Algeria to Spain, after skippering four boats that recently arrived to the coasts of the island. According to the investigation, the detainees put the lives of the people they were carrying on board at serious risk.
The first intervention took place on January 2, when a six-meter long skiff was rescued with 16 Algerian immigrants on board. It was the first boat of this type to arrive in Ibiza in 2025. Its skipper was arrested as alleged perpetrator of the crimes of favoring illegal immigration and belonging to a criminal group.
A day later, on January 3, a second skiff was intercepted, also six meters long, in which 13 people were traveling, all of them of Algerian origin. In this case, the National Police arrested two skippers for the same crimes as in the boat rescued the previous day.
The last two vessels were located together in the last days. They were a fishing boat towing a skiff, both found adrift after suffering a breakdown in the engine of the larger vessel after more than 12 hours of navigation. . Investigators found that there was prior coordination between the two vessels.
According to the police, the small skiff was initially used to transport the immigrants to the fishing boat, where they were transferred, fed and provided with life jackets. The organization’s plan was that, once near the coast of Ibiza, the immigrants would return to the skiff to reach land by their own means, while the fishing boat returned to Algeria. However, adverse weather conditions frustrated the maneuver.
After the rescue, all the immigrants were taken to the police station, where they received assistance from the Red Cross and interpreters. The unaccompanied minors were taken to the Provisional Reception Center in Ibiza. The four detainees related to these last two vessels, including the crew members of the fishing boat and the skipper of the patera, were brought before the courts as alleged perpetrators of the crimes of promoting illegal immigration and belonging to a criminal group.
