59 illegal migrants busted in Croatia

Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-17 20:25:25|Editor: zh
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ZAGREB, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Croatian police on Thursday arrested an Italian citizen who was smuggling 59 illegal migrants, the police announced on its website on Friday.

The 32-year-old man was caught in Lika-Senj County in central Croatia. Croatian police stopped him on Thursday and found 59 people locked in the lorry he was driving. They had entered the country illegally.

This was the second illegal migrant case in just two days in the same Croatian county. On Wednesday, one man was seriously injured while trying to escape from police after they warned him to stop the van. He jumped out of the van and fell 30 meters into a river canyon. There were 24 migrants hidden in the vehicle.

With almost daily reports of illegal migrants found in the country, it is clear that, as an EU member, Croatia has become an active route for migrants who are trying to reach further into western and northern European countries.

The Croatian police have increased patrols along its 1,000 km-long border with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). According to media reports, smugglers are charging the migrants at least 350 euros (400 U.S. dollars) per person to help them enter Croatia from BiH.

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