A MIGRANT readies for take-off as a gang orchestrates the first illegal paraglider crossing to a European country.
The man flew from Morocco over a fortified fence to reach Ceuta, Spain’s North African territory opposite Gibraltar.
Police found the paraglider after a search of the spot where he landed.
Five people, all sub-Saharan Africans, were arrested later on suspicion of organising the flights.
One has been remanded in custody with the others bailed.
Spanish police are said to have been alerted to the possibility of an aerial crossing this summer after groups of sub-Saharan Africans who had managed to make it to Morocco recorded videos they posted on TikTok showing paragliding gear.
One local paper claimed at the time they had even published a guide on how to do it and marked out recommended routes where the border fencing was “more vulnerable.”
The identity of the paraglider filmed reaching European soil at the start of October led to Spanish politicians coining the phrase ‘Flying migrants’ to describe the new phenomenon.
Ceuta, one of Spain’s two North African enclaves, is more used to dealing with migrants climbing over the heavily-fortified fences that separate it from Morocco.
Others have jumped into the sea to swim to Ceuta.
The risky entry method is far less used but a Somalian who managed to swim to Ceuta from the Moroccan town of Beliones just over four miles away is currently awaiting a transfer to the Spanish mainland.
