Terrorists could be penetrating Europe’s frontiers “posing as hapless migrants”, Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia warned police yesterday.

Speaking at the Interpol general assembly, Dr Mallia said terrorist organisations were making use of the “lucrative” human trafficking trade, particularly in the case of migrants fleeing war zones.

“Besides the innate heinousness of this modern equivalent of the slave trade, this flow of people into the southern borders of Europe is also posing a major security threat,” he said.

Dr Mallia said international cooperation to combat this should go beyond the policing of borders and move on to real policing.

Dr Mallia said the loosening, or even disappearance, of borders such as those in the Schengen area, made responsibility sharing more important than ever before.