Spanish police arrest five suspects over migrant smuggling from Ceuta

Spanish police have arrested five people suspected of charging migrants thousands of euros to bring them from Ceuta, Spain's North African exclave, to mainland Spain.

The arrests come less than a month after the Spanish territory, which borders Morocco, saw a deadly border rush in which over 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta irregularly, with many swimming or crossing on foot.

Dozens of people died in the chaotic scenes. Ceuta's leader Juan Jesus Vivas told EU lawmakers that some 100 people had died, while Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras said the death toll was 141 people.

The incident renewed debate in Europe on the sensitive issue of migration. Italy temporarily suspended Schengen border-free travel with Spain in response, with Madrid retaliating by imposing border controls on travelers from Italy.

What did Spanish police say about the arrests?

Five people were arrested after two investigations in Ceuta and in La Linea de la Concepcion in Andalusia, which borders British overseas territory Gibraltar.

The suspected traffickers allegedly charged migrants up to €9,000 ($10,500), Spain's Interior Ministry said in a statement, adding that the suspects used small boats "to smuggle migrants from Ceuta to the mainland."

Four of the people arrested are alleged members of a trafficking network that picked up undocumented migrants, sheltered them in houses or garages in Ceuta before smuggling them across the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain.

"Boat drivers were selected for their experience navigating fast and their ability to make evasive manoeuvres and avoid police checks," the statement said.

In one of the crossings, seven people were crammed into an overcrowded dinghy that was barely five meters (16 feet) long and two meters wide for five hours, without life jackets or other adequate safety equipment, police said. The boat ran out of fuel and was left adrift in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Strong currents, changing tides, high winds and heavy maritime traffic combine to make the Strait of Gibraltar extremely dangerous for people attempting to cross it in small boats.

What is the current situation in Ceuta?

Most of the estimated 72,000 migrants who entered Ceuta in late July have returned to Morocco, Spanish officials say. But thousands remain in the enclave, sleeping in makeshift camps, on the street or on the beach.

More than 1,000 migrants were cleared from Trampolin Beach on Friday, after more than 1,200 people were evacuated from the site the day before and moved to shelters.

The Spanish government in Madrid has said it will open temporary centers to ease the burden on Ceuta's overcrowded migrant shelters.