Palma being used for attempted UK illegal immigration

In recent months, the National Police have detained 87 people with false documentation who were seeking to travel to the UK. At the weekend, five people with forged passports were arrested - they were Iranian and Syrian. The most common countries of origin for illegal immigration to the UK through Palma are Afghanistan, Albania, China, Georgia and Iran.

People from these countries are paying the equivalent of thousands of euros to be transported to Majorca and be provided - once on the island - with false documentation for an EU country.

It is suspected that there has been a recent rise in the number of cases of attempted illegal immigration because of the imminence of the UK's exit from the EU.