Crew detects human traffic

A patrol boat alongside a smuggling vessel

Smugglers involved in human trafficking off the coast of Africa have been caught by a Royal Air Force surveillance team.

A Nimrod from RAF Kinloss in Scotland, spotted three boats packed with 90 people in a stretch of water between Morocco and Lanzarote.

The crew was working as part of an international organisation aimed at stopping illegal immigration.

Every year, about 2,000 people pay smugglers hundred of pounds to make the journey from North Africa to the Canary Islands.

They were open boats packed with people who immediately ducked down attempting to hide

Flight Lieutenant Richie Williams

They are often being ditched at sea and forced to swim the last stretch to shore

The smuggling operation was stopped by Spanish coastguards and customs officials on Saturday evening after the boats were spotted by the crew of the surveillance aircraft.

Fight Lieutenant Richie Williams, who was on board the Nimrod, said: "We found these two tiny boats chugging along low in the water under the weight they carried.

"They were open boats packed with people who immediately ducked down attempting to hide.

"We alerted a nearby (Spanish) Guarda Civil patrol boat and stayed close by in case the smugglers tried to throw people out, in which case we could have deployed lifeboats. "

The flight lieutenant said the patrol boat soon arrived, the smugglers were arrested and the passengers were taken on board.

The two boats were carrying 57 men, women and children.

A third boat with 30 people on board was apprehended through intelligence gained in the earlier part of the operation.