Dozens of migrants were caught in the last few days while trying to get out of Romania illegally, data from the Romanian Border Police shows.

Moreover, the Romanian coastguard intercepted yet another boat carrying 70 migrants who were trying to enter the country illegally on their way to Western Europe. One week before, the coastguard intercepted a boat with 69 Iraqi migrants on board.

On Sunday evening around 20:45, Romania’s coastguard intercepted a fishing boat carrying 70 migrants who were trying to enter Romania illegally. They spotted the boat near Mangalia port, and escorted it to shore. The group of migrants was made up of 23 children, 12 women, and 35 men, according to a statement from the Border Police.

Also on Sunday, August 20, at around 24:00, police officers from Nadlac Border Police, Arad county, intercepted a van heading to the city of Nadlac on the A1 highway. They found 24 Syrian and Iraqi migrants in the van, namely eight men, three women, and 13 minors. Most of them were asylum seekers in Romania who were trying to get out of Romania illegally as they wanted to get to a country in the Schengen Area.

Then, on Monday morning, the border police officers found 42 people from Iraq, Syria and the Comoros who were trying to get out of Romania hidden in a truck that was transporting clothes from Turkey to Germany. The truck’s driver was a Turkish citizen. Similar to the previous case, most of the migrants were asylum seekers in Romania and were trying to get in a country in the Schengen Area.

On Tuesday, August 22, the police officers saw a group of people heading to the border, on foot, crossing the agricultural fields nearby. They stopped them, and took them in for questioning. The group was made up of 25 people from Iraq, who were asylum seekers in Romania.

Bulgarian, Cypriot arrested in Romania in migrant smuggling case

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Politiadefrontiera.ro)