Bosnia’s Border Police have arrested 96 migrants, including 18 Afghan nationals, in two separate operations near the Croatian border, preventing them from illegally crossing into the country.

Bosnia’s Border Police said on Wednesday that the operations were launched after receiving a report from Croatian border authorities about a large group of migrants gathered near the country’s northern border.

In the first operation, carried out in the Bistrica area, 63 migrants were identified, including 40 Pakistani and 23 Bangladeshi nationals. Later that evening, another group of 33 migrants was detained, comprising 18 Afghans, 13 Bangladeshis and two Pakistani nationals.

According to the police, the migrants were attempting to cross illegally from Bosnia into Croatia. Officers also seized two boats that were allegedly intended to transport the migrants across the border.

All those detained were handed over to Bosnia’s Foreigners’ Affairs Service under the Ministry of Security.

Figures from Bosnia’s Ministry of Security show that the number of migrants who entered the country illegally during the first four months of this year increased by around 67 percent compared with the same period last year.

According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 1,100 irregular migrants were identified in Bosnia each month during the summer. Most of them use Bosnia as a transit route to European Union countries and stay in the country for an average of about two weeks while seeking a way to cross the Croatian border.