LJUBLJANA, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The Slovenian border police on Tuesday night found and expelled eight illegal migrants, six from Pakistan and two from Afghanistan, in a truck driven by a Serbian citizen, media reported Wednesday.

All eight captives who attempted to enter Slovenian territory were handed over to the Croatian authorities, according to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA).

The group of migrants was discovered by a heartbeat detector and carbon dioxide meter in the cargo part of the vehicle.

According to official figures, in the area covered by the Novo Mesto Police Department, 349 illegal crossings were recorded in 2017 and 189 so far this year, mostly from Algeria, Morocco and Syria.