Refugee found hidden in car glove box by Spanish border police
By Rebecca Speare-Cole |Evening Standard|
A refugee travelling from Morocco was found cramped into a car glove box attempting to travel to Europe.
Shocking pictures emerged showing a man in his twenties hiding behind the car’s dashboard at the border in Beni-Enzar, Morocco.
The car was stopped by border police whilst trying to enter Spain’s North African enclave of Melilla.
Spanish Guard officers said three vehicles carrying stowaways were stopped in the space of three hours and found a total of four Moroccan migrants hidden in four vehicles.
Pictures showed another refugee hidden in an engine compartment, while police also said they found another illegal migrant behind a car’s rear seats.
A fourth was found in a dumper truck in a dangerous position where they were likely to be crushed.The migrant’s, including a 15-year-old girl, were rescued from their cramped surroundings.
Two of the men, aged 20 and 21 had to receive medical treatment after showing signs of suffocation, disorientation and pain in the joints.
Three Moroccan males, aged 19, 30 and 31 were arrested on suspicion of people smuggling, each driving Moroccan registered cars of different brands.It follows other attempts to cross into Melilla.
Two men were found sewn into mattresses in January, while a 12-year-old boy was discovered behind a dashboard in 2017.
Morocco is the main departure point for undocumented migrants going to Spain and the enclave of Melilla has become a regular flashpoint for African migrants in recent years.
The straight between North Africa and continental Spain is only 7.7 nautical miles of 14km wide at its narrowest point.
