A 52-year-old Italian truck driver was arrested in western Hungary after 33 Syrian refugees were discovered inside his vehicle, Italy's SkyNews24 reported, citing local police sources.
Italy's foreign ministry confirmed on Friday that an Italian citizen had been arrested in Hungary and was receiving assistance from the Italian embassy in Budapest.
The man, who is accused of people smuggling, claimed he allowed the Syrians inside his truck because they were very cold.
He was arrested at Lake Balaton, around 100 kilometres southwest of the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
Hungary is currently a major transit country for the hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers seeking sanctuary in Europe from war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.
The bulk of the 170,000 people who have arrived in Hungary this year are seeking to travel westwards, mainly to Austria and on to Germany to claim asylum.
