Morocco Jails Seven Taxi Drivers Over Ceuta Border Surge

A Moroccan court has handed down the first convictions linked to last week's mass migration surge into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, sentencing seven taxi drivers to prison terms of up to six months. Each driver was also fined approximately $1,070.

The drivers were found guilty of facilitating illegal border exits and transporting passengers without a license, according to court documents. They had driven clients to the border town of Fnideq, near Ceuta, which saw tens of thousands of people cross or swim into Spanish territory following false social media rumors that the border was open.

The sentences were issued in Tetouan after the drivers appeared without legal representation due to an ongoing nationwide lawyers' strike. They retain the right to appeal. Authorities also confiscated one vehicle.

Labor unions, including the national taxi union, condemned the verdicts as "shocking and harsh," arguing that no official restrictions on passenger transport had been issued. "Taxi drivers cannot be held responsible for what happened," said Ali Younes, a union official. "They were punished simply for providing a public service."

The Moroccan Association of Human Rights reported that 111 people remain in pretrial detention in connection with the Ceuta events, facing charges that include mass rebellion and assaulting public officials.

The crisis, which saw more than 70,000 people attempt the crossing, resulted in over 80 deaths. Most survivors were expelled by Spanish authorities or returned voluntarily, though an estimated 1,000 minors remain in the territory with uncertain futures.

Separately, Europol announced that an international operation led by Spanish authorities dismantled a criminal network involved in trafficking migrants, drugs, and weapons across the Western Mediterranean, resulting in 78 arrests in Spain and Algeria in June.