The European Border Protection Agency FRONTEX said that in the first four months of 2022, the most active route of illegal migration to European Union countries was the "Western Balkans Road" which includes Albania.

According to the latest FRONTEX report, “The Western Balkans Road accounts for almost half of all illegal border crossings to the European Union with about 27,000 crossings, 130% more than last year.

According to the report, the main nationalities of the migrants on this road included Syrian and Afghan citizens.

Even the reports of the Albanian border police speak for this period for an increase of the penetration of illegal migrants, mainly from the Greek border, with temporary stay in Albania and with final destination the countries of the European Union.

The increase in the flow of migrants has been accompanied by an increase in cases of their smuggling by criminal networks, some of which have been hit by the Albanian police, especially in the border region of Gjirokastra with Greece.

In January of this year, the Albanian Special Prosecution (SPAK) ordered in Albania the arrest of 25 people involved in the smuggling of about 1200 migrants from Greece to Albania and then to Italy, VoA reports.

Meanwhile, according to the latest FRONTEX report, the total number of illegal migrants in the period January-April this year, which includes along the Balkan Road and the Eastern and Central Mediterranean Roads was 57,800 people, about 69% more than in four months first of last year.

Frontex said that "there are more than two thousand officers and staff of permanent troops in various sections of the external border of the European Union, as well as in Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and Moldova."

According to FRONTEX refugees fleeing Ukraine and entering the European Union through border crossing points are not part of the illegal entry figures found.

According to the latest FRONTEX data, more than 5.9 million people have entered the European Union from Ukraine and Moldova since the start of the Russian attack in February this year.