The eight Croatian nationals who had been charged with attempted human trafficking in Zambia were on Thursday acquitted of all charges, Croatian Justice Ministry State Secretary Vedrana Simundza-Nikolic said.

They could fly back to Croatia with their adopted children as early as today, according to the official.

“We have heard the happy news that our citizens have been cleared of the charges before the court. We had all been looking forward to such news for a long time. I hope the ruling is final and that they will return with their children as soon as possible, perhaps even today,” Simundza-Nikolic said in theparliament while presenting a bill on private international law to MPs.

The Croatian state news agency Hina has not yet received any official confirmation from the foreign ministry about the acquittal.

Seven months ago, the four couples were arrested in Ndola, Zambia, where they arrived to take their adopted children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their arrest was based on suspicion of the validity of the necessary documents. They had already been acquitted once before, in February, but the police arrested them again at the airport, returning them to custody and the court had brought charges against them again. According to the local media, the reason for that was an anonymous tip from Croatia.