4 Moroccan illegal immigrants arrested near El Oued

A National Gendarmerie roving squad rounded up late last week 4 Moroccan nationals on charges of illegal immigration in the Hassi Khelifa locality, near the city of El Oued, in south – eastern Algeria close to the border with Tunisia.

• The 4 arrested Moroccans, including 2 men and 2 women, aged between 40 and 50, had in their possession a small quantity of narcotics which were hidden in their Renault 18 vehicle, according to security sources.
• The same sources also indicated that the 4 busted Moroccans were on their way to neighbouring Tunisia, then to the Italian Island of Lampedusa, which is known as being a major illegal immigration transit route towards Europe via Italy.
• Numerous illegal immigrants, commonly dubbed as “Harragas”, have now shifted to the eastern borders after the severe clampdown imposed recently by the Spanish and Moroccan authorities on the movement of people across the western shore of the Mediterranean basin.