SARAJEVO: Bosnian police arrested eight people suspected of being part of a human trafficking ring that smuggled at least 1,400 illegal migrants to Italy, authorities said on Wednesday.

“Members of the criminal group organized the trafficking of at least 1,400 illegal migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Eritrea and China,” Dragana Kerkez, a spokeswoman for the interior ministry in Bosnia’s Serb-run statelet, told AFP.

The eight suspects were arrested in several towns across northern Bosnia during an operation carried out in cooperation with Europol and Croatian, Slovenian and Italian police.

During the raids, police also seized weapons, over 100,000 marks ($55,000) and used cars and boats, the spokeswoman said, adding that the group was also suspected of trafficking drugs.

The group used the Sky ECC encrypted communications network system, which was cracked in 2019 by a team of Belgian, Dutch and French investigators.

That gave authorities unprecedented access to the information on the practices of some of the most dangerous criminal groups, including ones in the Balkans.

Bosnia lies along the so-called “Balkan route” that migrants regularly use to reach the European Union.

According to Kerkez, the group trafficked migrants by first taking them to neighboring Croatia.

From there, they were transported in cars and trucks to Italy, she added.

Bosnian and Croatian authorities regularly arrest human traffickers in an ongoing crackdown hoping to stem the surge of migrants heading to the EU.

During the first nine months of the year, 1,430 migrant smugglers were arrested in Croatia, according to official figures — marking a nearly 40-percent increase compared with the same period last year.

In August, 12 migrants died when their boat capsized as they tried to cross a river between Bosnia and Serbia.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s General Sahir Shamshad Mirza on Wednesday discussed enhancing defense ties and the evolving regional dynamics as he met Azerbaijan’s president and its senior civil and military leadership during his visit to the country, the army’s media wing said. 

Pakistan and Azerbaijan have been enjoying cordial diplomatic ties since 1992, with the two countries having a shared history of cooperation, particularly in the areas of trade, defense, and energy. 

In July, both governments signed 15 agreements in various fields including transit trade, mineral resources and tourism during Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev’s two-day visit to the South Asian country.

“During the interaction, both sides appreciated deep and historic relations between the two countries and discussed matters of mutual interest including evolving security dynamics of the region and enhancement of existing defense ties in multiple domains,” the army’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

Mirza met Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Col. General Hasanov Zakir Asgar, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Aziz Oghlu Bayramov, Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of General Staff Col. General Karim Tofig Oghlu Valiyev and the Defense Industry Minister Vugar Mustafayev, the ISPR added.

Highlighting the importance of military cooperation between both countries, he reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment toward peace and stability, the army’s media wing said. 

Azerbaijan’s leadership appreciated the sacrifices rendered by Pakistan’s armed forces and their professionalism, the ISPR said. 

Pakistan and Azerbaijan have a history of military and defense cooperation. In 2021, Pakistan participated in an eight-day joint military drill with Azerbaijan and Turkiye as part of their tripartite military cooperation agreement. 

Pakistan was also among two countries that provided support to Azerbaijan during the 44-day-long Second Karabakh War from September to November 2020, in which Azerbaijan fought against Armenian armed forces until the conclusion of a Russia-brokered truce.