A total of 21 migrants in transit were administratively arrested during a joint operation in which local and federal police forces received assistance from transport company De Lijn.
Carried out on the night of Monday to Tuesday, the operation led police to identify and detain 21 migrants, 16 of whom were identified as Erythreans, four as Sudanese and the remaining one as Yemeni.
Half of the migrants apprehended during the operation also said that they were minors.
The operation was launched by police in an effort to find and dismantle human trafficking networks, according to 7sur7, after they noticed that migrants were travelling to the Antwerp municipality of Wommelgem onboard De Lijn buses.
"From there, they moved to nearby parking lots before hopping onboard buses bound for the United Kingdom," a federal police statement read.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
