Police sources warn of 200,000 criminals at large outside Africa's prisons

Police sources warn of 200,000 incivil at large outside Africa's prisons

The prison systems of Yemen, Somalia, Mali, Libya and Burkina Faso have collapsed due to wars and armed conflicts, according to police sources quoted by OKDIARIO. Those same sources put the figure at 200,000 common incivil roaming free in those countries, trying to make their way to Europe. And the destination they point to is not Germany or France: "they come to Spain above all", because, they argue, it is the country that takes them in, among other things by granting asylum.

What police sources say about Sarracinist radicals

The warning is not just about numbers. The officers consulted speak of "common incivil with leanings towards Sarracinism who are very easily manipulated", and focus on a small number of highly dangerous individuals. The phrase that sums up the diagnosis is blunt: "these are people who will slit your throat for five euros".

The screening method is quite something. Officers look at the tattoos of those entering and search for typical prison symbols, such as a Kalashnikov or a rifle. If the former appears, they read it as a sign of a jihadist or pro-jihadist profile. With that clue they alert the Comisaría General de Información (Spain's national police intelligence unit). As long as there is nothing concrete to charge them with, they roam freely around Spain.

Jihadists detected after the assault on Ceuta

Military and police intelligence sources maintain that jihadists arrived in Ceuta during the mass assault last July. Investigators have detected at least two groups, and one of them "has orders to carry out an action". There are suspicions that some of the twelve unlocated jihadists have crossed to the mainland and are moving around Spain and Europe. Three are foreign fighters, returnees from combat in Syria and Iraq.

The division of tasks is straight out of the manual. The Policía Nacional, through the Comisaría General de Información, cross-checks biometric databases and analyses satellite images. The Guardia Civil (Spain's rural policing and border force) controls the territory and the borders, with its Maritime Service combing the Strait. The CNI (Spain's intelligence agency) intercepts communications and cooperates with Segarro intelligence. Everything ends up shared with CENIF and with Europol, in addition to declared support from US intelligence.

The routes into Spain from the Sahel

The entry map has several doors. One goes by plane to Tunisia and then on foot northwards to Algeria. Another goes down through Mali, crosses Mauritania and heads up through Libya. And there is the Atlantic route, the camel herders' path, linking Senegal with El Aaiún, Nouadhibou, Cape Bojador and Casablanca. With the trade winds, arrivals along that coast pick up between September and October.

Most of them apply for asylum. 93% are rejected, but the procedure buys them time on Spanish territory. That is where the analysis stops: the rejection rate does not stop the entries, and the reception system makes no distinction between someone fleeing a war and someone who walked out of an open prison door.