Macedonian police have discovered 53 migrants in a truck in a southeastern border region and arrested the driver, who is suspected of being part of a trafficking gang, officials have said.
The truck was stopped during a routine check late on February 12 near the town of Valandovo, located in the vicinity of North Macedonia’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria, police said in a statement.
It said 37 of the migrants were Afghans, 12 were Pakistanis, two were Indians, and there was one Iraqi and one Egyptian. The driver was identified as a 43-year-old citizen of North Macedonia.
The migrants, who are believed to have entered the country illegally from Greece, were sent to detention centers in the capital, Skopje, and the border town of Gevgelija, pending trial.
They are expected to be deported back to Greece.