Ten people were arrested in Cyprus on Monday (October 23) for allegedly running a migrant trafficking ring, Reuters reports. The suspects were taken into custody in the country’s Paphos district. One suspected smuggler was found with a large amount of money, police say. 

Cypriot officials, along with many other government heads across the European Union, have expressed concerns recently that the Israel-Hamas conflict will threaten the internal security of the bloc. 

The arrests followed the arrivals of some 264 Syrian migrants who crossed the sea from the coast of Lebanon, according to authorities. 

Echoing such concerns, Italy closed its border with Slovenia and Slovenia closed its borders with Hungary and Croatia on Saturday.

Arrivals to Cyprus so far this year (some 7,400 as of late August) are low in comparison with last year, when around 21,600 arrived, according to UNHCR figures. 

Read more: Cyprus: Migrants targeted in spate of racist violence

17-year-old alleged smuggler found hiding in a garbage can

Meanwhile a 17-year-old suspected smuggler was arrested over the weekend in Germany’s southern region of Bavaria, dpa reports.

Police found the teenager hiding in a trash can following a highway chase. The alleged smuggler, who drove a car with a Serbian license plate, abandoned the vehicle and jumped into the can to hide. The alleged smuggler was transporting a Turkish family, which was taken to a reception center. 

No details are available about the teenager’s nationality. 

Migration officers have emphasized in recent years that innocent migrants are often forced by smugglers to steer boats or cars carrying other irregular migrants or refugees across borders while the actual human traffickers stay behind to avoid getting caught by authorities. 

When these boats or cars are stopped by police, the migrants behind the wheel are often charged with smuggling while the traffickers who organized the journey run free.

With dpa, Reuters