- The boat manned by the detainee arrived in August 2022 to the coasts of Puerto del Rosario, in Fuerteventura, with 44 migrants of Algerian origin inside, three of them died due to the hard crossing
- Several protected witnesses identified the detainee as one of those responsible for controlling the GPS navigation system and for patronizing the boat.
The National Police has arrested in Bilbao a man who had in force a search, arrest and personation order issued by the Provincial Brigade of Foreigners and Borders (UCRIF III) of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for the alleged commission of three crimes of reckless homicide and against the rights of foreign citizens, when they patronized a cayuco to introduce migrants irregularly in Spain.
The events attributed to him took place in August 2022, when a pneumatic boat arrived on the coast of Puerto del Rosario, in Fuerteventura, with 44 irregular migrants of Algerian origin inside and three of them died due to the harsh conditions of the crossing.
The Unit Against Illegal Immigration and False Networks (UCRIF III) of Las Palmas took charge of the investigation, and concluded, by statements of several protected witnesses, that the detainee was responsible for managing the GPS navigation system and for patronizing the boat during the trip, for which they accused him of the crimes mentioned above.
After initially making the suspect available to the courts, he fled without trace, so the investigators activated against him a Search, Arrest and Personation Order throughout the national territory.
For all these reasons and after arduous investigative efforts, the agents of the Provincial Brigade of Foreigners and Borders of Bilbao managed to find the whereabouts of this man, of Algerian nationality and 45 years of age, and proceed to his immediate detention in the Biscayan capital, where he had fled to avoid the action of justice.