British immigration officers are being sent to Bosnia to stem the tide of illegal migrants passing through the Balkans to Western Europe, according to a published report Monday.
Around 20 officials are initially being sought to work with Bosnian authorities as they attempt to secure their borders, said the report in The Daily Telegraph.
An estimated 50,000 illegal immigrants are believed to have entered the West via Bosnia in the first 10 months of last year.
According to the United Nations, this accounts for about 10 per cent of illegal immigration into the European Union, with the gangs in the trade charging an average of 5,000 dollars a person. Further measures to stem the trade are expected when E.U. immigration and interior ministers meet in Stockholm this week.