In a bid to reach Europe from North Africa, two migrants were discovered by the police attempting to cross the Spanish border hidden inside a pair of mattresses.
According to an AP report, two migrants told the police they each paid 4,500 euros (US$5,100) to a human trafficker to attempt the crossing. The driver of the van fled on foot when agents asked to inspect his cargo. The two men were taken to a migrant holding centre.
The footage was shared on Twitter by Spanish senator Jon Inarritu. It shows agents of Spain's Civil Guard taking two mattresses off the top of a van and cutting them open to reveal two young men inside.
"As long as there are no safe routes to request asylum, situations like this will continue to occur in the southern border of Europe," the senator tweeted with the video.?
'The use of mattresses to hide immigrants could be a new "modus operandi" of the mafias that traffic with immigrants',?states this local report.?
Over 2,200 migrants died trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean Sea in 2018, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency. Spain has become the preferred route to Europe for migrants and their traffickers, who often pack them into boats unfit for open waters, states AP.?
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