Police arrest 19 for murder after ‘50 migrants accused of witchcraft are thrown overboard’ on way to Spain’s Canary Islands
POLICE in Spain have arrested 19 alleged people smugglers accused of torturing and murdering up to 50 would-be migrants on board a small boat heading from Africa’s impoverished western coast to the Canary Islands.
The ramshackle wooden vessel – known as a cayuco – made landfall at Arguineguin on Gran Canaria’s southern coast on August 25 after Spanish coastguards rescued the 65 ft-long boat and its passengers off the African city of Dakhla in Western Sahara, over 250 miles from the Canaries.
The boat reportedly left Senegal with around 300 passengers on board, but only 248 survivors were brought to shore by Spanish authorities.
An investigation was subsequently launched after some of the vessel’s passengers told police about mass executions on board, with fellow migrants reportedly tortured and shot by people smugglers controlling the boat.
According to witnesses, the gang of people smugglers accused other passengers of witchcraft whenever something went wrong during the eleven-day voyage, such as an engine issue, a shortage of food or even rough seas – with at least 50 migrants allegedly thrown overboard.
On Wednesday, police said 19 suspects had been detained in relation to the alleged murders.
At least 16 of the arrested individuals are believed to be from Senegal, with at least one coming from Gambia.
A spokesperson for the Policia Nacional in Gran Canaria said: “Policia Nacional officers have arrested 19 people on suspicion of murders and torture on board a cayuco rescues on August 24.
“Several migrants who were travelling on board spoke of murders, wounding and torture committed during the crossing.
“The disappearance of at least 50 people thrown into the sea by the alleged people smugglers is also being investigated.
“All of those held, who were travelling in the same boat, have been remanded in custody after appearing in court.
“The investigation points to the vessel having left Senegal initially with around 300 people on board, with the estimated disappearance of at least 50 migrants during the eleven days the journey apparently lasted.
“The boat, made of wood and around 65 ft long, was located adrift by Spanish Coast Guard vessel Guardamar Urania, which took the 248 occupants to Arguineguin.
“According to statements taken from witnesses, several of the migrants arrested not only piloted the cayuco, but also assaulted dozens of people, hitting them and mistreating them in several ways.
“In some cases they threw migrants while they were still alive overboard into the ocean as well as refusing to help those who accidentally fell into the water.
“The witnesses point to the disappearance of around 30 people thrown overboard, although investigators believe more than 50 people died or disappeared.
“The cause of these deaths, according to the witness testimony gathered, is that they are allegedly related to superstitions that identified as ‘witches’ certain people on the boat when incidents occurred during the crossing, such as engine failures, lack of food or bad weather.
“Likewise homicides have been documented for the simple reason that some people protested or showed their unconformity with the travel conditions.
“The 19 suspects identified are being investigated on suspicion of people trafficking, homicide, wounding and torture.”
The suspects, currently in pre-trial detention, are set to appear at a court in San Bartolome de Tirajana.
The passage from Africa’s western coast to the Canaries – an archipelago located over 800 miles from mainland Spain but just 67 miles off the African coast – is widely regarded as the world’s most dangerous migration route.
Last year, nearly 47,000 migrants reached the Canary Islands, according to data from the Interior Ministry.
Shocking figures revealed that 4,808 deaths were recorded in the first five months of 2024 alone, equating to 33 deaths a day or one every 45 minutes.
Arrivals to the Canaries have slowed this year, falling 53% from January 1 to September 15 compared with the same period last year – with many experts pointing to the deal prime minister Pedro Sanchez struck with Mauritania, a key point of departure for African migrants, last year.
The bilateral agreement, signed last August, included extra funding to support the poverty-stricken nation’s border control in an attempt to ‘disincentive’ those attempting to make the hazardous trip west.
According to the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid, dangerous small boat crossings in the Atlantic Ocean have surged amid political and social instability in the Sahel region, where there have been ten coups in seven countries in just the last four years.
In Mali, a military regime battling an Islamist insurgency has provoked a mass exodus from the country, with many taking to the Atlantic in search of a better life.
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