THIS is the dramatic moment three brazen Ceuta migrants attempt to stow away on a ferry to mainland Spain.
Footage shows as two of the migrants haul themselves up to the ship on a rope.
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They can be seen racing across a pier before grabbing hold of a dock line and clambering up it one after another.
The pair rapidly clamber up the rope before disappearing from sight.
But crew members spotted the migrants sneaking up the ship and raised the alarm.
Ceuta cops cornered all three men on a port pavement after their plan fell through.
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The Baleària-operated Passió per Formentera had been due to depart on the Spanish mainland in mere minutes when the migrants were spotted rapidly ascending the rope.
Its Algeciras-bound journey was delayed by the attempted boarding.
Port police arrested the Moroccan men on Sunday.
All three of the men had entered Ceuta during the mass border storming in late July, when tens of thousands charged from Morocco into the Spanish exclave.
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Cops don’t know how they broke into the port facilities undetected, but the incident adds to concern over Spanish government’s decision to accommodate more than 1,000 migrants in the port area.
A police source told local media: “If there’s enough disorder for us to have to intervene, we’d have no choice but to close the port.”
They asked: “What happens if they get onto the ferry and you then have to fight to get them off?”
Attempts by migrants to sneak onto ships headed for mainland Spain are a recurring problem in Ceuta and Melilla.
It comes as fears of a second mass “invasion” are mounting in Ceuta after intelligence chiefs went on high alert over calls of a march to “liberate” the enclave.
National security forces are closely monitoring a Moroccan social media campaign which is allegedly urging crowds to descend on the Spanish territory on September 20.
And a group of 21 migrants were arrested in Ceuta for allegedly hurling rocks at a patrol of soldiers at the weekend.
Around 5,000 illegal migrants are still roaming around Ceuta after 72,000 stormed the Spanish territory on July 30 and July 31.
Police told local media that a fight broke out before a group began launching rocks at a nearby military patrol.
The Civil Guard were called in for support but were also targeted, according to reports.
After the alleged attack, the Spanish Troops and Seamen’s Association (ATME) raised concerns over repeated incidents against members of the Armed Forces.
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Just days earlier the Civil Guard arrested two migrants on Trampolín beach for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers.
The crisis has sparked mass protests across Spain as tens of thousands line up to slam the government’s response to restoring order in the enclave.