The Police of North Macedonia announced Monday they arrested ten men who are suspected members of an international people smuggling ring. The arrests were the culmination of an investigation that lasted from July 2021 to May 2023. 

Macedonian police stated that the group is part of an international migrant smuggling channel and consists of 17 members in total. Among the other seven members who have been identified by investigators, three members are already in prison for previous crimes of “smuggling migrants” and four members are wanted for arrest.

The group organized migrant smuggling by operating routes between Greece and Hungary and from Bulgaria and Serbia to destinations in the EU. The group charged migrants they transported with prices ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 euros.

The Police of North Macedonia filed a criminal report against all 17 members of the group for crimes, such as the “smuggling of migrants,” which violates Article 418(b) of the Criminal Code, and “organizing a group and encouraging the commission of the acts of human trafficking, child trafficking and smuggling of migrants,” which violates Article 418(c) of the Criminal Code.

This is not the first time the region has identified smuggling activity. On Sunday, Greek authorities rescued 91 migrants, mostly from Syria, from the Evros River and transferred to a processing center.