Migrants try to cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)
A 12-year-old unaccompanied minor who crossed into Spain is escorted by a Spanish soldier to the Spain-Morocco border as the child begs not to be sent back to Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. The forced deportation of the unaccompanied minor was stopped by a high-ranking official a few meters before the child reached the border after residents and journalists said the migrant was a minor. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Migrantes que cruzaron desde Marruecos a España hacen fila para recibir comida en una playa en el territorio español de Ceuta, el lunes 3 de agosto de 2026. (AP Foto/Bernat Armangue)
CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) — Seven Moroccan taxi drivers were sentenced to up to six months in prison and fined $1,070 each for aiding irregular migration by driving people to the Spanish border in Ceuta. It marked the first ruling in Morocco tied to the surge of more than 70,000 people crossing into the tiny Spanish North African territory over the past week.
Judges in the northern Moroccan city of Tetouan found the taxi drivers guilty of “facilitating the illegal exit of Moroccans and foreigners through unauthorized border points” and “transporting passengers without a license,” after they drove clients to the Moroccan border town of Fnideq, according to excerpts of the ruling on the Justice Ministry website.
