BELGRADE, SERBIA (AP) – Serbian police said yesterday they have arrested two people suspected of helping smuggle Cubans toward Spain as part of an international crime group.
The two Serbian citizens were arrested in a monthslong investigation in cooperation with Spain, the Interpol and Europol, police said in a statement. They said 18 more suspects have been arrested in Spain.
The suspects in Serbia are accused of organising the illegal transfer of at least 53 people to neighbouring countries – North Macedonia or Bosnia – and on to Spain, said the statement.
Serbia, a southeastern European nation located on the Balkan peninsula, is at the heart of a key land route for migrants trying to reach the European Union (EU).
The country in April revoked a visa-free travel arrangement with Cuba following reports of Cubans moving on toward Spain and other EU countries after first coming to Serbia as tourists.
