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The latest weapon in the battle against illegal
immigration comes in the form of a satellite system, which will track
the movements of migrant vessels from the coast of North Africa.
The technology, which has been named the “Sea Horse” system, is capable
of tracking the movements of people attempting to abscond from Africa
and illegally land on the shores of European countries, particularly
Spain and Portugal.
The new system will enable police forces in the partaking countries to
distinguish any illegal activities, namely illegal immigration and drug
trafficking, by a single high-speed communications and data network. A
coordination centre has been set up in Gran Canaria’s capital Las
Palmas where officials receive information about immigration flows and
suspicious ships sent from the individual surveillance stations
established in coastline cities such as Praia in Cape Verde and Dakar
in Senegal. Police will then be able to plot charts and prepare the
interception of illegal vessels.
The 1.8 million euro project has been funded by the European Union and
was developed by Spain’s leading IT and defense systems company Indra,
which is one of the most prominent IT companies in Europe and Latin
America. Miguel Marquez from Indra believes that although the satellite
technology is not unique, used in these circumstances it will
unquestionably reduce the number of illegal immigrants arriving in
Europe from Africa. He commented,
“It is the most sophisticated network
of its kind in Europe. It uses technology that already existed but had
never been applied to illegal immigration before.”
Although various methods have been used to curtail the vast numbers of
immigrants seeking a new life in Europe, including Spanish aircrafts
patrolling the waters, illegal immigration and drug trafficking is
still rife between South Atlantic counties. The major advantage of the
Sea Horse system is that increases the cooperation of authorities from
Spain, Portugal and North African countries and in doing so may also
help assuage other problems. A spokesperson for Indra announced,
“The Sea Horse network is a step
towards an international information exchange that will improve
relationships and coordination between countries in areas other than
illegal information and drug trafficking."
The first week of 2009 saw 151 immigrants arrive at Spain’s shorelines,
a number which has been considerably reduced as a result of pioneering
Sea Horse system and the consequent collaboration between both
continents.
Gabrielle Pickard for RT
Russia Today
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