People smuggling

Albanian police arrests 39 suspected human traffickers for illegally smuggling 1,000 people into Britain and the United States

Albanian police have arrested 39 people in a crackdown in crime rings illegally sending around 1,000 Albanians into the UK, the United States and Canada.

National police chief Ardi Veliu confirmed authorities had identified seven criminal rings in ten different countries which allowed Albanians to move illegally by 'falsifying travel and identity documents of European Union countries'.

These countries included Albania, Bulgaria, Spain, France, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Britain, Ireland, the United States and Canada.

Despite the 39 arrests, 12 wanted fugitives are still at large, including two Bulgarians. 

'Every person paid at least 7,000 pounds ($9,764) to get to the United Kingdom and from $24,000 to $30,000 to reach the U.S. and Canada,' Veliu told reporters. 

Each of the people smuggled paid between $9,750 to $30,000 for the forgeries. 

He said the gang forged passports for those travelling and helped them reach their destinations travelling through other European countries, or through the Dominican Republic or other countries in South America.