Traffickers blamed after 60,000 migrants storm Spain's Ceuta border

Criminal gangs accused of exploiting court ruling

People-smuggling gangs are being blamed for one of Europe's biggest migrant surges after around 60,000 people crossed illegally from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in little more than 24 hours.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez accused trafficking networks of deliberately exploiting a recent Supreme Court ruling and spreading false claims across social media that migrants could now enter Ceuta without being immediately returned to Morocco.

The unprecedented influx overwhelmed border controls, left at least 57 people dead according to local media, and forced Spain to deploy the armed forces as thousands poured into the tiny North African territory.

Sánchez described the mass crossing as "a violation of Spain's territorial integrity" and said criminal gangs had twisted the court's decision for their own profit, encouraging tens of thousands to risk the dangerous journey across the border.

Smugglers spread false hope

According to Sánchez, the trafficking networks seized on a Supreme Court ruling that migrants intercepted at sea could no longer be summarily returned to Morocco.

Spanish officials believe smugglers falsely portrayed the judgment as an open invitation to reach Ceuta, prompting the largest wave of illegal crossings the enclave has ever experienced.

By Friday evening, authorities said more than 48,000 migrants had voluntarily returned to Morocco as the two countries worked together to restore control.

One migrant heading home issued a stark warning to others.

"People are dying here," he said. "If you haven't come yet, don't come."

Border collapse sparks European row

The crisis has triggered a political storm across Europe.

Italy suspended the Schengen free movement arrangements with Spain, while Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the scenes as "shocking" and warned that uncontrolled migration posed a security threat to Europe.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz demanded Morocco immediately take back illegal migrants, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the images from Ceuta were "unacceptable" and had to stop.

Spain has now reinforced security in both Ceuta and neighbouring Melilla as authorities investigate how border controls collapsed so dramatically.

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