Mafias run informal markets and drug sales on Ceuta's Trampolín beach
Migrants have set up a sprawling open-air market on Ceuta’s Trampolín beach, where organized groups rent tents, sell goods and distribute drugs.
Migrants who arrived in Ceuta have established an extensive outdoor market along the Trampolín beach, stretching over a kilometre without any shelters or display cases. Vendors, many of whom are the migrants themselves, trade food, clothing, phones and salvaged goods, while some also rent out makeshift tents for a nightly fee that can fall to as low as ten euros. A spokesperson for the local NGO Jupol described disputes among sellers that sometimes turn violent.
Police reports indicate that the market also supplies tobacco, low-priced beer and cannabis, with a joint reportedly costing five euros. The area lacks basic sanitation, forcing some residents to use the sea or nearby containers for waste, and local residents complain that the situation is becoming unsustainable.
Why it matters
The informal market shows how migrant influxes can foster unregulated economies and crime in vulnerable border cities.
How this story developed
- Sep 16 Police dismantle overcrowded Ceuta flat housing 25 migrants, including six children
- Sep 18 The Audiencia Nacional's Contentious‑Administrative Chamber approved the use of Ceuta port for a temporary migrant shelter.
- Sep 18 about 850 migrants were settled in 50 tents at the port while others returned to beach camps
- Sep 19 The port camp filled within hours, leaving many migrants still without shelter on the streets and beaches.
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