Two smugglers arrested in Crete and Evros following rescue of 78 migrants
Operations by the Coast Guard led to the arrest of two South Sudanese nationals for illegal trafficking. A total of 78 people were rescued from boats in maritime areas of Crete and Evros.
Two smugglers arrested in Crete and Evros following rescue of 78 migrants
In two separate maritime operations within a few hours, Coast Guard personnel managed to prevent loss of life and led to the imprisonment of two individuals who are alleged to have organised illegal border crossings.
The first operation began early in the morning, when the search and rescue coordination centre notified the coast guard of Kaloi Limnenes of a boat with persons on board at a distance of 30 nautical miles from the coast, to the southeast. A vessel of the coast guard reached the location, retrieved 43 people from the sea and transported them to port. Among them were 39 men, one woman and three children. From there, they were transferred to Heraklion under the escort of specialist forces.
During the investigation of the case, a 21-year-old man from South Sudan was identified as the route coordinator. The remaining passengers reported that they had departed from Tripoli in Libya and that they had paid the driver amounts ranging from 4,000 to 13,000 dinars of their country of origin.
Slightly earlier, at another location in Crete, at the fishing refuge of Loutres in the Gortyna municipality, 35 people were found who had managed to reach land with an inflatable boat. The group consisted of 27 men, four women and four minors. One of the women required hospital care and was transported to the General Hospital of Heraklion. The others were taken to the port of the city.
From the investigation that followed, it emerged that a 22-year-old from South Sudan had undertaken the transportation of the second group from Tobruk. The passengers had paid individual fees reaching 15,000 dinars.
Both men face charges of illegal entry into the country, facilitation of illegal entry and exposure.
Source: Coast Guard – Hellenic Coast Guard
Source: Google News GR — Crime (el)