The man was arrested as part of a joint operation by five Balkan countries to crack down on a trafficking ring that has smuggled some 600 people in recent months, most of them Albanians and Turks, it said in a statement.

The five countries, former Yugoslav republics, work together to cut off smuggling routes. Around 70 people were arrested at the end of May after months of surveillance.

"Collected evidence indicates that the suspect has had a leading position within an organised criminal group" which smuggled foreign nationals across Turkey, Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia to the West, the prosecution said.

The statement said the suspect was involved in the trafficking of more than 100 people, most of them Turks, whom he charged between 3,000 and 4,000 euros ($4,000-$5,400) each for the service.