Czech police together with investigators in Germany and Slovakia had been surveilling the suspects for the past two months. The traffickers have allegedly smuggled up to 100 people to Germany during six trips, charging between 2000 and 8000 euros per person for the illegal transport. If found guilty, the three Turkish nationals face prison sentences up to eight years.

The refugees traveling in the delivery van discovered Friday included four children and a pregnant woman now under medical care. They had been traveling in another truck from Romania via Hungary and Slovakia to Czech Republic. Some had already applied for asylum in other EU countries to which they will be returned, according to dpa.

Czech Republic is not normally known to be a main country of transit for refugees headed to Western Europe. In 2017, the national police only apprehended 172 people.