Two sub-Saharan men have been detained after border guards found them emerging from inside mattresses at a check-point between Spain's Melilla enclave and Morocco.
In a video shared on the Twitter page of Spanish Senator Jon Inarritu, the border guards are seen using a knife to cut through the mattresses' plastic wrapping and fabric after lifting them from the roof of a van.
Inarritu was quoted by The Daily Mail as saying that "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 newspaper cited Spanish media as saying that it was the first time that mattresses were used to smuggle migrants, adding that criminal gangs could use this method more often in the future.
READ MORE: 'Aquarius Case' Turned Spain Into Magnet For Irregular Migrants – Italian MP
With many EU countries tightening their border control to tackle immigration, Spain remains the main entry point for African refugees who are seeking to enter Europe.
The move came after Italy refused to allow two rescue ships carrying migrants in June to dock at any of its ports. Spain allowed the first ship, the Aquarius, with more than 600 people on board, to dock in Valencia, but barred entry to the other one, the Lifeline.
