Eight people, nationals of Croatia and Bosnia, are suspected of organizing to smuggle at least 119 nationals of Turkey across the border from Bosnia into southern Croatia in the area around the city of Dubrovnik, local police reported on Wednesday.

The smuggling ring is suspected of having taken people across the border illegally on 21 separate occasions from 2021 to 2022. The operation is thought to have earned a profit of 370,000 kuna (€50,000).

Following months of a police investigation, seven Croatian nationals and one from Bosnia have been suspected of multiple counts of illegal entry, movement, and residence in Croatia and other EU member states. The three main suspects have been laced in custody.

The other five suspects have been reported for aiding the crime, state agency Hina said, without clarifying whether they have been placed in custody too.

(€1 = 7.52 kuna)