Forty-seven migrants from Bangladesh and Pakistan have been found hiding in two trailer trucks along Romania's western border as they were trying to leave the country illegally, reports the state-run Agerpres news agency.
However, the Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals, aged between 20 and 49, had entered Romania legally on the basis of personal documents.
They were put under investigation immediately for attempting to fraudulently cross the state border, while two drivers from Turkey and Belarus were charged with human trafficking.
The trailer truck driven by the Turkish driver was checked on the way out of the European country through the Nadlac II border crossing point.
"According to the documents accompanying the goods, it was carrying bags of plastic granules on the Turkey-Poland route, Arad Border Police said on Wednesday.
Following a thorough check of the means of transport, 24 migrants were discovered hidden in the cargo compartment among the goods being transported, it added.
Another 23 migrants were found hiding in a trailer truck driven by the Belarusian man, carrying bottles of mineral water. They were in a special place at the front of the semi-trailer, behind a false wall.
In September last year, 70 migrants including a number of Bangladeshis were found in goods-laden trucks near a Romanian border with Hungary as they were allegedly trying to leave Romania illegally.
As of mid-August, there were as many as 1,674 Bangladeshi citizens registered with a legal right of residence in Romania.
Of them, some 1,506 are for the purpose of employment," Romania's Interior Ministry informed InfoMigrants on August 16, 2022.
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On April 18, Romania Insider reported that the country is set to issue work visas for over 15,000 people from Bangladesh over the summer.
“But under 10% of the ones who came in the past remained in the country, while the rest left for countries such as Germany and Portugal,” it added.
Bangladeshi workers get a special kind of work visa that does not allow them to travel to other EU member states from Romania legally.
The consular mission of Romania in Bangladesh granted work visas to 5,400 Bangladeshi citizens between April and July last year.
Romania has become a transit point for migrants to the Schengen area in recent years. They were often smuggled into the country from the Black Sea or the southwestern border with Serbia, and then leave for the Schengen Area through the borders with Romania and Hungary.
Some 161 Bangladeshis lived in Romania till 2020, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
However, the organisation said many Bangladeshis frequently use illegal routes to reach various European countries and at least 21 Bangladeshis reached Romania illegally in 2020.