Maribor - A van with Austrian licence plates and driven by a Syrian citizen was transporting 17 illegal migrants when pulled over by Slovenian police on the motorway in Pomurje, north-east, on Tuesday on suspicion of transporting illegal migrants.

The driver was detained for unlawful crossing of the border and will be taken before an investigating magistrate in Maribor, the Maribor Police Department said on Wednesday.

The migrants he transported - citizens of Afghanistan and Iraq - meanwhile asked for international protection and were taken to an asylum centre.

The van was pulled over en route from the town of Lenart towards the city of Maribor.