One police officer and four citizens were arrested in centre Albania late Thursday for allegedly trafficking illegal migrants, Albanian authorities said on Friday, Trend reported citing Xinhua.
The special investigation was conducted by the Internal Affairs Service and Complaints Department (IASC) of the Interior Ministry.
Those arrested are suspected for assisting 19 foreign migrants, including Syrians, to cross the border illegally.
The 19 migrants were detained at the entrance of Pogradec city centre in Albania while they were being transported in the direction of the capital city Tirana in two vehicles driven by Albanian citizens. The illegal migrants entered the green border in Devoll area, south-eastern Albania, where two other Albanian citizens were waiting for them.
Authorities said they seized four vehicles, cell phones and an amount of 120,000 Albanian lek (about 1,093 U.S. dollars).
The police officer was suspected of playing the role of the road controller, authorities said.
The arrested will face the charges of "illegal border crossing assistance in cooperation".