The suspects, aged between 16 and 31, were arrested and detained on Saturday (August 31) in the northern Moroccan cities of Tetouan, Casablanca, Souk El Arbaa, Ksar El Kebir and Tangier, according to Spanish media reports.

They are accused of having shared content on TikTok, Facebook and other social networks, urging people to swim from Morocco into the autonomous Spanish city of Ceuta via the sea route.

The messages encouraged people to set out from the Moroccan city of Fnideq (Castillejos), El Faro de Ceuta reports.

Influenced by social media

Efforts by migrants to cross into Ceuta have risen sharply in recent weeks. In August, over a thousand people attempted to swim to the beach at Tajaral in the autonomous Spanish city.

Among them was Chaimae El Grini, a 19-year-old Moroccan woman who has been posting the story of her journey on TikTok since she managed to reach Ceuta on her fifth attempt.

By late August, after two weeks in the Spanish city, her videos had received millions of views. 

Chaimae told El Faro de Ceuta that the hope of finding work in Spain had driven her to risk the dangerous five-hour swim in strong currents and fog.

"The current drags you and the sea looks immense," she said, adding that she had no intention of inciting others to attempt the journey.

But numerous other videos and images on social media showing people reaching Spanish territory in this way fail to warn of the dangers and the risk of death.

In August alone, El Faro reports, five people are known to have died in the attempt to reach Ceuta by sea, their remains found in the water or washed up on the shore.

Also read: A third of Moroccans want to migrate, according to a recent survey

Transfers from Ceuta

A Moroccan security source said an investigation was underway to determine the motives of the suspects arrested on Saturday. Further arrests are also continuing in connection with the alleged offences, EFE reports.

Meanwhile, the large number of people reaching Ceuta in recent weeks has put an added strain on the limited reception facilities in the territory, including those for minors. 

On Friday, August 30, the Temporary Stay Center (CETI) in Ceuta, with 512 places, held around 830 people, according to EFE.

To ease pressure on the enclave, migrants continue to be transferred to the Spanish mainland.

"Thank you Ceuta, thank you Spain!," reads a post from August 31 on X. This group was happy to have made it onto the so-called 'Balearia list', named after the high-speed ferry that takes migrants to Algeciras on the Spanish mainland.

One man on the list, Mohamed Saidi from Algeria, told EFE that he had arrived in Ceuta at the beginning of June. Swimming to the coast had taken him over five hours and had been "very hard," he said.

Making no mention of whether he had been influenced by social media, the young man explained, "We just want a better future."

With EFE