(DAKAR) - Senegalese police on Tuesday questioned 64 illegal African immigrants after they were intercepted by a ship of European border control agency Frontex.

The 38 Guineans, 16 Gambians and 10 Senegalese were all in the same fishing boat when they were picked up by a Frontex patrol off the coast of Senegal on Monday night, Senegalese police spokesman Daouda Diop said.

"They were handed over today (Tuesday). They have been in Dakar since noon and are being questioned," Diop said, adding that the people in custody were all would-be immigrants and not human traffickers.

According to police the immigrants told them they had set off from Guinea, a neighbour of Senegal, three weeks ago.

The police spokesman explained that would-be immigrants start their journey to the Spanish Canary Islands further south now as the coast of Senegal is heavily patroled by Frontex ships.

Senegal has been a member of Frontex since September 2006. The Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco have been a magnet in recent years for mainly sub-Saharan immigrants aspiring to reach Europe after a security crackdown in Morocco and two Spanish enclaves there.

According to figures of Frontex-Senegal nearly 4,300 illegal immigrants and traffickers en route for Europe were intercepted and another 6,900 illegal workers were repatriated from Europe to their countries of origin.

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