Hundreds held in Spanish immigrant swoop

Whole boatloads of illegal immigrants have already been arrested

By Bill Bond in Madrid

Nearly 200 illegal immigrants, all from the African continent, have been rounded up by police along Spain's southern coast in the last three days as the wave of people trying to get into Europe continues.

It was one of the biggest single operations against the tide of illegal immigrants crossing the narrow Straits of Gibraltar so far this summer.

They came from mostly Morocco and Algeria, but also from sub-Saharan countries.

Fifty-two of them were women, six of whom were pregnant. There were also four children.

Expelled

They had arrived on the beaches of Tarifa near Cadiz in three open boats.

Every day, there are reports of illegals being detained after making it to the safety of the Spanish coast, a major southern gateway into Europe for the immigrants.

So far this year, nearly 8,000 of them have been detained by police and then expelled.

In one week in July, 1,000 were detained and it was then that police and authorities started to refer to a tidal wave of illegals.

Perilous

Five wooden open boats crammed with people were spotted on another summer day, just off the beach at Tarifa, the southernmost point of mainland Europe, where mostly wild beaches stretch for miles.

The boat people pay up to $3,500 to be taken across the straits, a perilous journey because of fierce currents and sudden high winds.

Authorities in southern Spain estimate that more than 1,000 immigrants have drowned making the crossing in the past two years.

But the true number will never be known, as most of the bodies are swept out into the Atlantic and never recovered.