The Afghan migrants were headed to Switzerland, after paying thousands of US dollars for the journey from Iran to Europe, Kranj police said in a statement.

All 16 have asked for asylum and were taken to the police station in Brnik, where they were offered food and a place to warm up.

The driver and passenger of the truck, a 35-year-old Greek man and 25-year-old Greek woman, were detained on human trafficking charges.

According to information obtained by police, the migrants started their journey in Iran months ago, passing through Turkey to Greece, where they requested asylum, before continuing their journey on to Italy and Slovenia.