STA, 3 August 2021 - Ljubljana police have arrested seven suspects, of whom two foreigners, as part of two criminal rings that organised transport of over 200 illegal migrants from Bosnia-Herzegovina via Slovenia to Italy for financial gain in 2020 and 2021. Six suspects have been remanded in custody and one is in house arrest.
The first ring is suspected of having organised illegal crossing of the border and transport for 116 citizens of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Ljubljana Police Department said on Tuesday.
The investigation targeted five suspects, each of whom had a specific task in the ring, which was led by a Slovenian citizen from the area of Ljubljana.
In Italy, the ring had at least three unidentified ring leaders.
The manner in which the ring helped illegal migrants get from Bosnia to Italy was such to pose a risk to the lives of the migrants, the police said.
Each illegal migrant was also charged some EUR 3,500 for the journey, with the ring estimated to have gained at least EUR 406,000 in illegal gain.
On 10 May Ljubljana police arrested three ring members, of whom two Slovenian citizens and one Bosnian.
The other ring is suspected of having organised illegal transport for at least 91 foreigners from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and Bangladesh.
Six persons had been investigated, and four arrested in the sting on 17 June, of whom three were Slovenian citizens and one Serbian. The investigating judge then sent one of them into house arrest.
The gang is estimated to have gained at least around EUR 28,700.
In the first investigation, the Slovenian police cooperated with Italian authorities to exchange information, and in the second one with police from Italy and Croatia.
