Gabon migrant smuggled into Spain in car boot
Monday, July 13, 2015 @ 6:21 PM
A FRENCHMAN has been arrested for attempting to smuggle an African migrant into Spain in the boot of his car.
The accused, 54, identified only by his initials of B.R.J.F., was detained after customs officers inspected his vehicle at the land border between Morocco and the Spanish-owned city-province of Ceuta on its northern coast.
Armed border police say car boots and under the bonnet wrapped around the engine are two of the most common hiding places for Africans attempting to get into Spain, having crossed the continent overland to Morocco.
These are among the first places they search in every car driven between the two continents.
On this occasion, they found a 32-year-old man from Gabon and charged the driver with breach of foreign nationals' rights.
The Gabon man was taken to Ceuta's asylum centre where illegal migrants are held until they are either given temporary residence, granted refugee status, or deported.
By the end of this weekend, the centre in Ceuta was up to 722 residents, even though it only has capacity for 512.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com