site.btaMigrant Trafficking Ring Broken Up in North Macedonia

An organized crime group of 17 people was broken up in an operation against illegal migration, the Interior Ministry of the Republic of North Macedonia said. The crime ring was a part of an international migrant-smuggling channel from Greece to Hungary and from Bulgaria to Serbia.

The group hired cars from car rental agencies in Skopje, Kumanovo, Tetovo in North Macedonia, and from Bulgaria, as well as drivers to transport the migrants to pre-arranged locations in Serbia and Hungary. The migrants were charged between EUR 2,000 and 4,000 per person.

A total of 11 sites were searched and 10 people were arrested by the police during the operation which was carried out in the towns of Kumanovo, Kratovo and Strumitsa in North Macedonia between July 2021 and May 2023. Three of the smugglers are already serving prison sentences for earlier crimes related to illegal trafficking of migrants.