Getty The migrants, who are led by ruthless people traffickers, are going through the Black Sea

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The migrants, who are often led by ruthless people traffickers, are going through the Black Sea to outwit the authorities. Police have launched a clampdown on the Black Sea route, which has seen at least 69 Iraqi migrants arrested on their way to the Romanian Black Sea coast from Turkey in the latest crackdown. The migrants were on a boat skippered by Bulgarian and Cypriot smugglers when they tried to get in to the country.

Figures revealed the traditional route through the Mediterranean from from Turkey to Greece has seen less activity, with a drop of 90 per cent after Turkey signed a deal with the EU to lessen the flow and send migrants back if they were not genuine refugees. But there has been a surge in crossings from the Western Mediterranen between North Africa and Spain and by land on Bulgaria and Romania.

Getty The new route through the Black Sea has become popular with migrants

Romanian police told The Times the numbers of people crossing the border illegally has increased five fold since 2016. At least 2,500 illegals were caught trying to sneak through its borders in the first six months of this year. Some opted to go through Serbia, where at least 7,000 were blocked by the police.

Getty people traffickers see the route as a way to outwit the police