SARAJEVO, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Six illegal migrants hidden in a lorry were discover Monday during an inspection by officials of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA).
After a detailed inspection of the lorry, officials found six hidden illegal migrants, including five Iraqi young men and one Iraqi woman.
"During the regular control of customs clearance at Sarajevo Customs Office, ITA officials noticed a torn tarpaulin on the deck of a lorry with BiH license plates," said the ITA official website.
The Iraqi migrants entered the lorry in Livno, a city located 190 kilometers west of BiH's capital, by cutting the tarpaulin on the roof of the lorry. According to their allegations, they received information that the lorry is transporting goods to Italy, and they decided to head there.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants passed through the so-called "Balkan route" in 2015, trying to reach Western Europe. BiH was then not part of that route.
However, migrants have turned to BiH in recent months, trying to avoid more heavily-guarded routes and borders in the Balkans. A total of 6,513 illegal migrants have entered BiH since the beginning of this year, out of which 4,000 have already left, Security Minister Dragan Mektic revealed recently.