Spain arrests five over Ceuta migrant trafficking

Spanish police have arrested five people over alleged migrant trafficking from Ceuta to mainland Europe, saying suspects charged migrants up to $10,500 for boat crossings to the Iberian peninsula.

Police said four of those arrested belonged to a trafficking network that intercepted irregular migrants, housed them in residences or garages in Ceuta, and then took them across the Strait of Gibraltar to southern Spain.

Police said boat drivers were selected for experience navigating at speed and avoiding checks. The statement did not say how many migrants were involved.

Two suspects were detained in Ceuta and two in Linea de la Concepcion, in Spain's Andalusia region. A fifth suspect was jailed pending trial for allegedly charging seven migrants 8,000 euros each to transport them on August 14 in a small boat that police said lacked minimum safety standards.

Ceuta, a Spanish territory in northern Africa, saw an estimated 72,000 irregular migrants enter in late July by swimming or crossing on foot from neighbouring Morocco. The chaotic influx left scores dead and prompted European Union disputes over migration.

Most of the migrants who entered Ceuta in July have returned to Morocco, but thousands remain, sleeping on the street or the beach. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government has announced temporary centres to relieve the small city's overwhelmed shelter system.