India North Macedonia: Police discover 148 migrants in vans

SKOPJE, North Macedonia — Police in North Macedonia say they’ve found 148 migrants crammed into vans in two separate operations in central and northern components of the nation, and have arrested two males on suspicion of trafficking migrants.

Police mentioned their patrol stopped a truck and accompanying passenger automobile close to the city of Demir Kapija, about 110 km (70 miles) south of the capital Skopje, on Wednesday. They, discovered 103 migrants, together with 29 kids, packed into the truck. The bulk — 81 individuals — have been from Pakistan, whereas 10 have been from Afghanistan, eight from India, two from Egypt and one every from Iran and Syria. Two males from North Macedonia have been arrested as suspected smugglers.

The migrants have been transferred to a migrant shelter within the southern border city of Gevgelija pending deportation to Greece, the place they’re believed to have crossed into North Macedonia from.

One other 45 migrants from Syria, Bangladesh, Somalia, Pakistan and the Palestinian territory have been present in an deserted truck close to the northern village of Vaksince, close to the border with Serbia, late Wednesday. Police mentioned the truck driver fled the scene.

The Greek border with North Macedonia was closed earlier this 12 months because of the coronavirus pandemic. However trafficking networks stay lively, ferrying migrants who make their approach from Turkey into Greece after which try to go north, by way of Serbia to extra affluent international locations within the European Union.

Police mentioned that in July alone that they had detained a complete of 567 migrants making an attempt to illegally transit North Macedonia and had arrested 9 individuals, together with three Serbian nationals, suspected of migrant trafficking.