The group reportedly beat migrants to make them walk and gave sleeping tablets to children to stop them from crying and being noticed, judicial sources said on Wednesday.
The probe, which began in early 2022, documented 32 episodes each involving dozens of migrants and refugees travelling along the Balkan route through Italy from Greece to northern Europe.
The alleged smugglers accompanied groups on foot through the woods from the Slovenia-Croatia border to Pomjan in Slovenia, from where they boarded vehicles to Trieste.
Each migrant or refugee reportedly paid up to €250 for the passage.
Thirteen people, originally from Albania and Kosovo but now living in Trieste, have been arrested in relation to the probe and in total around 30 people have been placed under investigation.
The suspects face a number of possible charges including facilitating illegal immigration and criminal association.
ANSA
