There are more and more people trying to cross the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina illegally.
Three people have been arrested on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, suspected of organising smuggling of illegal migrants to Croatia. Their arrest was the result of a major police operation conducted several days ago, confirmed the headquarters of the Border Police of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, reports Index.hr on October 18, 2017.
In operation conducted between 11 and 13 October, aimed at breaking up the illegal migration network, the police arrested a total of fifteen people, and three of them were identified as human trafficking organisers. They are citizens of the United Kingdom, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time of the arrest, the police found 14,000 euros and 3,000 dollars with the British suspect. The money and the car he was using were taken away.
The migrants who were detained by the police were taken to an immigration centre in Sarajevo. They are citizens of Turkey, Libya, Pakistan and Kosovo.
The Department of Foreigner Affairs, which is part of the Bosnian Ministry of Security, confirmed that, since the beginning of this year, the number of illegal migrants discovered in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina and prevented in an attempt to enter Croatia had increased by 350% compared to 2016.
During the first nine months of this year, more than 600 illegal migrants were detected and detained. Just in the last few days, about 40 such cases were discovered.
Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina Saliha Đuderija told reporters in Sarajevo on Wednesday that she was not sure for how long the migration crisis could be contained.
She hinted at the fact that thousands of migrants were “stuck” along the so-called “Balkan route” that should have led them to the European Union. A large number of such people are still in Serbia, and they are increasingly trying to cross to Bosnia and Herzegovina and proceed to Western Europe, with Croatia being the first country along the route.
“This problem is being kept under control in some way, but we are not entirely satisfied, and the question is how long that can last,” she said at a press conference on the occasion of 18 October, which is marked as the International Day of Fight Against Human Trafficking.
Translated from Index.hr.
