Five Greek border guard agents were arrested for migrant smuggling. They are suspected of being accomplices in a smuggling ring that was transporting immigrants illegally from Turkey to the country, judicial authorities announced.
The investigation lasted a year and concluded that the agents had been in contact with trafficking networks that had been operating in the neighboring country since at least October and involved various actions aimed at facilitating the entry into the European space of non-EU citizens.
Judicial authorities seized dozens of mobile phones and cash in banknotes from Asian countries. In recent years, thousands of migrants, mostly from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, have come to Greece by sea from Turkey in the hope of reaching Western Europe.
With increased patrols in the Aegean Sea making it more difficult for migrants to reach the Greek islands, more and more people are risking crossing the Evros River, Greece’s natural border with Turkey and where smugglers play a major role. .
Athens plans to build a 5-meter-high steel fence along the 35-kilometre border with Turkey. The goal is for the wall to extend 100 kilometers by 2026.
Source: TSF
