Ukrainian's van was eerily empty, customs officer saw an eye: There were children in the double roof

Photo: Customs Administration

Customs officers at the Batrovci border crossing today prevented an attempt to smuggle migrants in a specially made double roof of a van.

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In the narrow space of the double roof of the van, set up for the purpose of human trafficking, customs officers discovered three teenagers aged 12, 14 and 17, citizens of Afghanistan, who were being transported across the border in inhumane conditions.

The case was discovered on September 10, about two hours after midnight, when a van with Subotica license plates driven by a 38-year-old Ukrainian citizen arrived to the exit side of the Batrovci border crossing.

Thanks to the persistence of the customs officers who insisted on checking in detail the vehicle that was suspicious to them, this attempt to smuggle children was thwarted, and the police arrested the smuggler.

Empty vehicle raised suspicion

Customs officers decided to inspect the van in detail because the vehicle was eerily empty, without luggage, cargo or any small items, which is not usual when going on a long trip.

The driver-smuggler claimed that he was on his way to Portugal on business and did not react in any way when a team of customs officers started a detailed check.

After the leader of the customs team tapped a light intended to illuminate the cabin, the entire mechanism fell out, which doesn't happen unless somebody had tampered with the factory-installed device.

The customs officer then pointed his flashlight through the hole that had opened, and saw someone's eye.

At that point, it was quite clear that the driver was a human smuggler and that the van actually had a double roof, that he used to smuggle three Afghan teenagers across the border.

Narrow space fit just for lying down

The space created for human trafficking was so narrow that migrants could only be transported lying down.

When the customs officers opened it, in addition to the three teenagers who were already visibly exhausted - the youngest among them even had an injured leg - they found numerous bottles of water with which they were trying to refresh themselves during the painful journey.

After they were discovered, the driver and the migrant children were handed over to the police for further procedure.

(Telegraf.rs)