TIRANA, March 27 – Albanian police stopped 23 Syrian citizens near Shkodra from entering Montenegro and finally advancing towards Austria on Tuesday.
While the Syrians were taken to the local police and are undergoing mandatory legal actions, the police is investigating the routes used by them to enter Albania.
Illegal trafficking specialists also arrested 5 Albanian citizens living in the capital, Tirana, who were trafficking the Syrians.
Local media reported the arrested were Taxi private transportation company employees, suspected to have cooperated and organized the 23 foreign citizens’ transportation towards Montenegro.
So far, local media reports authorities suspect the Syrian refugees entered Albania via the Greek border, but it is still unclear how they made it to Shkodra without being noticed.
The arrested Albanians are penally accused for “assisting illegal border trespassing” , in cooperation with other parties.
This is the second case in March that Albanian police suspends Syrian refugees close to Shkodra trying to cross over to Montenegro.
As the weather conditions improve, authorities are expecting more Syrian refugees will be using Albanian territory as a transit for their final destination towards Western Europe countries.
