STA, 19 August 2021 - Police have uncovered a criminal ring that has been smuggling migrants from Bosnia via Croatia and Slovenia to Italy. According to the Koper Police Department, the ring consisted of six members - four Slovenians, one Kosovo citizens and another of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
A lengthy criminal investigation, conducted by investigators from the Koper Police Department in cooperation with Italian and Croatian police forces, was completed on 4 August.
During the investigation, the criminal ring either attempted to smuggle or successfully smuggled at least 17 citizens of Bangladesh, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan into Italy via Slovenia.
The members, aged between 20 and 43, used hired vans to smuggle migrants, and also delivered them food, drinks and fresh clothes. The police estimate that the group earned between EUR 68,000 and 85,000, but the exact amount was difficult to determine.
The cost of smuggling from Bosnia to Italy was between EUR 4,000 and 5,000 per person, and the cost of transport from the Croatian border through Slovenia to Italy was around EUR 350 per person.
One of the suspects was arrested by Italian authorities after fleeing from Italian police patrols. After the arrest, he was found to be a Kosovo citizen using forged documents.
In the final phase of the investigation, Slovenian police officers carried out two house searches in the Ljubljana area. They arrested a 31-year-old Slovenian, and a 33-year-old Bosnian citizen with a prior conviction.
The two suspects have been remanded in custody in Koper for risk of repeating the crimes, while the other four will be free during the criminal procedure, Dejan Grandič, deputy head of Koper criminal police, explained for the STA.
The suspects face fines and prison sentences ranging from three to 15 years.
In the first seven months of the year Slovenian police recorded 4,495 illegal border crossings, down by just over 40% year-on-year.
Grandič said fewer cases of smuggling illegal migrants had been recorded this year in the area policed by the Koper Police Department, south-west, while the number of illegal migrants had increased.
The Police Department processed 2,068 migrants entering illegally from Croatia until the end of July this year, up almost 11% from the same period last year.
"There is also more cases when individuals cross the green border, helping themselves with navigation," said Grandič.
The bulk of illegal migrants in the Koper police area this year have been citizens of Afghanistan (621), Pakistan (465), Bangladesh (216) and Turkey (188).
As many as 967 illegal migrants have been sent back to foreign law enforcement, the bulk to Croatia, while there has also been in a rise in migrants expressing an intent to ask for international protection, especially Afghan citizens.
According to Grandič, organisers of illegal migrations usually already have a criminal record, while there are different reasons why people decide to transport illegal migrants, he explained. "They can be either people at the bottom of the social ladder, jobless, addicts, younger people who see an opportunity to earn a quick buck ..."
