Dozens of people have been arrested over a fake ID plot to help 40 Ceuta migrants enter Andalucia illegally.
According to the Policia Nacional, migrants paid up to €6,000 for documents belonging to somebody else in an attempt to board a ferry to Algeciras.
The arrests include 40 migrants accused of using the documents and five people suspected of supplying them.
The investigation followed a mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta on July 30 and 31.
Officers checking ferry passengers noticed that photographs on several identity documents did not match the people presenting them.
Initial enquiries established that the documents belonged to third parties, prompting investigators to examine how they had been obtained and who was supplying them.
Police also recorded an increase in reports of lost or stolen identity and travel documents in Ceuta during the investigation.
They suspect some documents, mostly belonging to citizens of European countries, were subsequently used to help other people travel to the mainland.
Investigators found evidence that the same document had been used by different people on separate crossings.
Police believe this points to a potentially organised operation facilitating irregular migration through identity fraud.
Document checks at Ceuta’s port have been reinforced with support from Punto Atenas, a specialist police service that helps officers examine suspicious identity and travel documents.
The investigation has involved police units on the Andalucian coast and central services, working with prosecutors.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
