RABAT: Morocco has stopped 45,015 people from illegally migrating to Europe since January and busted 177 migrant trafficking gangs, Morocco’s state news agency MAP reported on Friday, citing interior ministry data. It did not give comparative data for the same period in 2023 and the interior ministry did not respond to a media request for comment. Last year, Morocco stopped 75,184 people from illegally crossing to Europe, up 6% from a year earlier, government data showed. The Moroccan navy has also rescued 10,859 migrants at sea so far this year, MAP said, citing the interior ministry data. “In 2024, Morocco continues to face an increasing migratory pressure as a direct outcome of the prevailing instability in the Sahel region and porous borders,” it quoted the ministry as saying.