Skopje, 10 September 2024 (MIA) - In a coordinated action, the police dismantled an organized crime group involved in the smuggling of a larger number of migrants, mostly from Syria, as well as Congo and Iraq, the Interior Ministry said in a press release Tuesday. 

The Ministry said police searches have been carried out in five buildings located in Shtip, Zletovo, Probishtip and Veles. It said the head of the group was a 39-year-old citizen of Shtip, who worked alongside five other Macedonian nationals, as well as a 50-year-old citizen of Serbia and another unknown individual from Serbia. An individual from Pakistan also cooperated with the group.

Five people have been detained, the police are searching for one person, while another member of the group was already detained for migrant smuggling. The Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecuting Organized Crime and Corruption has filed charges against seven individuals.

The operation was part of a criminal investigation into the organized group carried out from September 2023 to June 2024. 

Photo: MIA Archive