More than 20 Africans suspected of planning an illegal crossing into Spain, after a deadly attempt last month, were arrested by Moroccan police on Saturday.
The DGNS security service said that police from the northern port city of Tangiers disrupted “an illegal immigration attempt and questioned 25 people originally from sub-Saharan Africa.”
“36 homemade metal objects” were seized in a Tangiers shop that could be used for climbing, it said in a separate statement, though it did not specify which of two Spanish enclaves was targeted.
Spain’s Ceuta and Melilla enclaves have the EU’s only land borders with Africa.
At least 23 migrants died while trying to enter Melilla over border fences last month. According to Moroccan authorities, they were among around 2,000 migrants, many from Sudan, who tried to break through the border fence.
After they arrived on a public bus, the DGNS said the suspects, living illegally in Morocco, were arrested at a checkpoint at the entrance to Tangiers immediately.
On Friday, cooperation to combat human trafficking would be boosted, the European Union and Morocco said.
