Skopje, 12 August 2025 (MIA) – The Interior Ministry busted 14 organized criminal groups, including 201 individuals and 18 legal entities, in the period from July 1, 2024, until June 30, 2025.

“Tackling illegal migration is one of the key challenges and priorities of the Interior Ministry, demonstrated by the statistics of actions taken and results produced in the period from July 1, 2024, until June 30, 2025. During this time, 14 organized groups were busted that included 201 individuals and 18 legal entities,” said the Interior Ministry (MoI) in a press release Tuesday. 

A total of 64 migrant smuggling cases were discovered, which involved 430 people and 6,000 attempts of illegal transiting were prevented, down by almost 50 percent compared to the previous period.

In cooperation with the EU agency Frontex, the Interior Ministry has been conducting operations to control the borders and address security risks. In addition to migration, cases involving counterfeiting money, terrorism, prostitution, high corruption (estimated at over 16 billion denars) drug trafficking as well as new cases of migrant smuggling in connection to international criminal networks were also discovered, said the press release.

The Interior Ministry continues to be committed to uncompromising fight against illegal migration and organized crime, being one of the strategic priorities aimed at protecting security and legal order,” it concluded. 

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