Albanian police arrest 5 transporting Syrian migrants

TIRANA, Albania – Police in Albania have arrested five Albanians who were transporting 23 Syrian migrants toward neighboring Montenegro.

A statement Tuesday said the five were transporting the Syrians in their taxis when they were stopped near the northwestern city of Shkodra, close to Montenegro.

The statement said the Syrians aimed at reaching Austria.

The five Albanians are charged with assisting in illegal border crossing and may be jailed up to 10 years.

Albania, a NATO member since 2009, has not been a major transit route for migrants through Europe so far, although small groups have tried crossing it to reach its northern neighbors.