When Spanish police checked on a car that was entering its North African enclave of Ceuta on Tuesday, they were surprised to find a man and a woman stowed away in the dashboard and under the back seat of the car.

The migrants, believed to be from Guinea, had to given first aid due to lack of air.

On Dec 30, they found another man, believed to be from Gabon, hiding inside a suitcase. He had to be given emergency medical treatment.

Police have arrested two Moroccans for attempted smuggling, including a 22-year-old Moroccan woman who had tried to smuggle the Gabon man into Ceuta. She was ordered by immigration officers to open her suitcase, which was tied to a trolley.

The discoveries came as more than 1,000 migrants stormed a border fence between Morocco and Ceuta on New Year's Day in what the Spanish government has described as in an "extremely violent and organised" manner.

In a statment, the authorities said the migrants tried to "force open some of the doors in the external fence, using iron bars, wire cutters and large stones with which they assaulted Moroccan forces and (Spanish) Guardia Civil (police) agents".

Five Spanish policemen and 50 members of the Moroccan forces were wounded, including one who lost an eye, said the statement.

Ceuta and Melilla, another Spanish territory in North Africa, are the only land borders that the European Union share with Africa.