Four people have been arrested in Albania for smuggling 10 foreign citizens from third countries.
The operation, codenamed Mengel 2, resulted in the arrests on charges of assistance for illegal border crossing. The police said they believed that those arrested had been charging between EUR 400 and EUR 500 for each person they transported. It’s reported that those being smuggled were of Syrian origin.
The foreign nationals would be transported from the Greek border to Kukes where they would then be transferred to an EU country.
In the last week of June, 10 traffickers were arrested by Albanian police over two days. Codenamed “Perimeter” the operation discovered individuals smuggling some 18 migrants into the country. It was reported they charged up to EUR 1000 per person.
One of the main trafficking routes into Europe passes through Albania. It is believed thousands of people pass through the country every year, destined for Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia before going on to the borders of the EU.
