Sixteen migrants caught trying to illegally leave Romania on foot, hiding in cargo lorries

Arad border police caught 16 migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Cameroon and the Ivory Coast who in the last 24 hours attempted to leave Romania illegally on foot or hiding in cargo lorries.

A lorry driven by a 52-year-old Turkish national hauling auto parts to Slovakia was checked at the Border Crossing Point (PTF) in Varsand.

"Following specific risk analysis, border guards carried out a thorough control of the vehicle. Thus, five people were discovered inside the lorry, hidden in the cargo compartment. During preliminary checks, the border guards established that the people are citizens of Afghanistan, aged between 16 and 24," reads a press statement released on Friday by the Arad Border Police.

At Nadlac II a lorry driven by a 36-year-old Romanian hauling refrigerators to France was checked. Six people, young people from Afghanistan and Pakistan aged between 18 and 29, were found hidden in the cargo compartment.

Also in the PTF Nadlac II area five migrants were caught in the field, about 100 metres away from the border line with Hungary attempting to cross into Hungary on foot. It has been established that they are from Cameroon and the Ivory Coast and are between 21 and 39 years old.

In all cases, the migrants could be prosecuted for attempting to cross the state border illegally, and the two drivers for trafficking in migrants.