A JIHADIST terror convict who was banned from entering Spain has been arrested in Ceuta.
The Moroccan national was detained by the Guardia Civil during a security check in the Spanish enclave, sources have told Europa Press.
The man was found on Thursday afternoon alongside his brother at one of the controls activated following the mass influx of migrants at the end of July.
When officers ran a background check on him, they discovered that a 2015 court ruling had banned him from entering Spanish territory.
He was then taken to a Policia Nacional outpost, where officers started the process of denying him entry and returning him to Morocco.
The arrest comes as Ceuta remains under heightened security following the extraordinary migrant crisis, which saw around 72,000 people enter the city in just 48 hours on July 30 and 31.
Around 5,000 of those migrants currently remain in the small North African enclave, according to the Spanish government – including some 1,200 children.
Fresh controversy erupted this week after Spain released intelligence documents showing that the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) had warned of planned mass crossings before July 30.
The documents have intensified an ongoing political row over whether the government has been handling the crisis properly, as accusations from Spain’s right wing have swirled around Morocco’s alleged involvement in the influx.
Rabat has denied deliberately allowing or encouraging the mass crossing, while Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s left-wing government has insisted there is no conclusive evidence that Morocco orchestrated it.
Last week, a leaked Spanish police report suggested Moroccan officers could be seen directing migrants into Ceuta during the surge, with Sanchez’s opposition claiming this showed Rabat had masterminded the onslaught.
Morocco’s foreign ministry rebuffed the allegation on Thursday, saying it refused to be used as a ‘scapegoat in a settling of political scores’.
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