BELGRADE, June 1: Balkan police broke a major human trafficking ring smuggling people from the Balkans and the East into European Union countries, officials said on Friday.

Around 70 people were arrested at the end of May after months of surveillance, Serb police chief Milorad Veljovic said at a news conference with officials from Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Slovenia.

“Through joint operative work we cut off a channel of organised human trafficking of mostly Albanian and Turkish nationals,” Veljovic said.

The illegal immigrants, who also came from China and Pakistan, paid between 2,000 and 3,000 euros ($2,688-$4,032) each to be smuggled into the EU.

Several channels were used to smuggle people from bases in Albania and Macedonia, through other Balkan countries and into EU members Slovenia and Hungary. Chinese immigrants were flown to Belgrade then taken southwards to Macedonia and on to Greece.—Reuters