Police in North Macedonia detain 26 migrants hidden in van

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Police in North Macedonia have detained 26 migrants thought to have entered illegally from neighboring Greece. They’ve also arrested a suspected smuggler who had been driving them in a van toward Serbia. A police statement says the migrants from Syria, Pakistan, Egypt and India were detained early Tuesday after a patrol stopped their van near the eastern town of Stip. The suspected smuggler is a national of North Macedonia. The migrants were transferred to a reception center pending deportation to Greece. The relaxation of pandemic-era restrictions has brought an increase in the numbers of migrants taking the Balkan route into Europe’s prosperous heartland. They usually pay criminal gangs to help them on their journey.