Five small boats carrying illegal immigrants were intercepted off the Almeria coast on Thursday.
During the afternoon, a boat carrying 20 North Africans was spotted about 50 miles east of Cabo de Gata and a Marine Rescue vessel was sent to =rescue- them.
In the evening, a plane from the FRONTEX military plane spotted a boat carrying 9 North African males about 40 miles east of San José and a Marine Rescue vessel was mobilised to interecept and transport the passengers to Motril.
Three other boats carrying a total of 28 illegal immigrants were also intercepted in the waters off the Almeria coast.