The Bulgarian driver of an international (TIR) truck has been arrested in the Italian city of Bari for attempting to smuggle 27 Iraqis into the country.

Officers of the Italian Finance Police intercepted the truck with its cargo of Iraqi citizens at the port city of Bari. None of the illegals possessed personal IDs or valid documents allowing them to enter the country.

The immigrants were hidden in a separate partition concealed by a sliding wooden barrier in the truck trailor. Some of them declared they had paid up to EUR 4 000 euro for the journey.

The driver, a Bulgarian citizen, has been detained. Police have not yet released details of his identity, nor any information regarding the truck and its route.

The Bari operation was part of an organized drive by Italian police to stop people-trafficking, under the codename "Ticket to Ride", a reference to the famous Beatles’ song.

The police operation, considered one of the most important in Italy, was conducted simultaneously in 16 Italian cities, leading to the arrest of dozens of members of an international organization which had organized 180 "voyages" for over 2 500 illegal immigrants in past three years.