A reported 14 people were arrested over the course of a month during police checks at the border between Italy and Slovenia, including nine suspected migrant smugglers.
A total of 14 people have been arrested in the northeastern Italian city of Trieste by border police between July 8 and August 10 as part of checks restored at the border with Slovenia and operations to fight irregular migration.
Out of the 14 arrested, nine are suspected migrant smugglers while five others are recipients of measures previously issued by judicial authorities. Carabinieri police took part in the border checks.
At least nine suspected migrant smugglers
The first alleged smuggler, a 51-year-old Turkish citizen, was arrested on July 8 while he was accompanying to Italy five compatriots between the ages of 15 and 49.
Three days later, two Turkish nationals, a driver and a passenger aged 25 and 23, were apprehended by police over suspicions they aided and abetted irregular migration. The driver was arrested while the passenger was reported to authorities.
Two additional suspected smugglers, a 25-year-old Ukrainian national and a 47-year-old Georgian citizen, were arrested on July 16. The first was driving to Italy four Turkish minors who were subsequently placed under the care of a facility for children and teens.
The Georgian citizen was accompanying five Turkish citizens and a Syrian woman between the ages of 19 and 46.
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A Turkish woman who was traveling in a car with four children apprehended on August 3 instead wanted to reach her husband in Germany: the driver, a 51-year-old Moldavian national, was arrested.
Two suspected smugglers were also arrested over the following days: a 46-year-old woman from Kosovo and a citizen of Belarus, 34, who were transporting a total of seven Turkish irregular migrants.
Another alleged smuggler, a 40-year-old Ukrainian national, was arrested on August 8 while he was driving a Syrian couple with three small children. The following day, a 23-year-old Georgian citizen was arrested while transporting six irregular migrants: four Iraqis and a Syrian.
Also read: Italy praises border checks with Slovenia to curb migration rate