19 August 2016, 17:37 GMT
ROME (Sputnik) — A raid conducted in the northern Italian cities of Milan and Como as well as in Belgium, Sweden and France, with the assistance of local police, resulted in the arrest of a criminal group consisting of 16 Syrians, two Tunisians and individuals from Algeria, Lebanon and an Egypt, the Italian news wire askanews reported.
Investigators believe that the suspects smuggled hundreds of undocumented migrants from Hungary to Austria and Germany in some 300 vehicles which were registered to fake companies, according to the media outlet.
Reportedly, a hundred traffickers were working for the criminal group with a number of them already placed in police custody.
Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing crisis-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa to escape violence and poverty.
