IT HAS BEEN CITIZENS WHO HAVE ALERTED OF THEIR ARRIVAL IN ALL CASES

Six boats have arrived in Lanzarote so far this year and none have been detected by the SIVE

The boat that arrived this Tuesday in Las Caletas "was in the coverage area" of the system, according to the Civil Guard itself, but it was a citizen who alerted of its arrival

May 11 2018 (14:48 WEST)
Six boats have arrived in Lanzarote so far this year and none have been detected by the SIVE
Six boats have arrived in Lanzarote so far this year and none have been detected by the SIVE

Six boats have arrived in Lanzarote so far this year and none of them have been detected by the Comprehensive External Surveillance Service (SIVE). Not even the boat that arrived this Tuesday in Las Caletas and that, as recognized to La Voz from the Civil Guard itself, "was in the coverage area" of the system.

From the Benemérita they affirm for years that the SIVE has "shadow areas", that is, areas in which the system does not see, without giving more details about why most of the boats are not detected. However, that is not the case of the boat that arrived this Tuesday in Las Caletas with at least 13 immigrants, which "was in the SIVE coverage area". However, it was a citizen who alerted the Civil Guard, after seeing "several people with wet clothes walking near Playa del Jablillo", according to the Benemérita itself.

The most tragic case, however, dates back to January 15, when seven immigrants died in a boat that arrived at Playa Bastián. It was one of the lifeguards of Playa de El Jablillo who spotted the boat, according to what one of his colleagues told La Voz at the time, who recounted how he experienced the tragedy. There were 27 people in the boat and five of the immigrants arrived already dead in the boat, while the other two drowned upon arrival. After the tragedy, political parties such as Podemos and Ciudadanos asked that it be clarified why the SIVE had not detected the boat and, even, the Ombudsman announced an investigation. However, to date nothing has transpired about it.

The second boat that arrived on the island this year did so on February 16 to the coast of Jameos and, then, it was also a citizen who alerted of its arrival, seeing around one in the morning "a group of people walking along the road", who could be irregular immigrants. It was then that the police device was initiated, managing to intercept 13 people, all of them men, of whom four said they were minors.

Four boats in just over a month


In the month of April, there were three boats that arrived in Lanzarote and none of them were detected by the SIVE either. The first, with 16 immigrants on board, was located on April 1 by Maritime Rescue 58 miles northeast of La Graciosa, but after passengers of the Naviera Armas ferry that covers the route between Huelva, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria, alerted of the presence of the high seas.

On April 19, a new boat arrived on the island, specifically to Famara beach, although in this case not only with immigrants, but also with 116 kilos of hashish. In this case, it was also a citizen who alerted of its arrival and although the Civil Guard and Local Police managed to intercept a total of 13 immigrants, due to the dimensions of the boat it was not ruled out that more were coming. Two of them, however, were not in the boat, but were in a vehicle that was picking up the immigrants and the drugs. Seven of the immigrants, including the alleged skipper of the boat, were arrested and six of them were sent to provisional prison for crimes against public health. The seventh was released on charges for the same crimes but to a lesser degree.

A week after these events, on April 26, a boat with about twenty immigrants arrived in La Graciosa, at Playa de Pedro Barba. And, as in the previous cases, it was also a citizen who alerted the security and emergency services, being on this occasion a fisherman who was in the area.

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