A Moroccan couple were allegedly caught trying to smuggle a 10-year-old Palestinian boy across the Spanish border in a shopping trolley full of groceries.
Spanish police discovered the small child at the Beni-Enzar border with Melilla, an autonomous Spanish city on the northwest of Africa, on December 31.
A photo released by police shows him crouching down inside the trolley.
Sky News reported that the couple were arrested on human trafficking charges.
The child is said to have been returned to his mother, who is living at a nearby migrant camp.
Melilla is a popular crossing point for migrants and refugees as it is one of only two land borders the European Union shares with Africa.
The other is the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, also bordering Morocco.
Morocco does not recognise Spanish sovereignty over Melilla.
In 2005 a new border fence, 11km long and three metres high, was built around Melilla.
