The Greek border authorities have arrested a total of around 1,300 suspected human smugglers last year along the Evros river bordering Turkey, a Greek minister said. He also claimed that more than a quarter million irregular crossing attempts by migrants were prevented in 2022.
Greek authorities arrested some 1,300 suspected smugglers in 2022, Greek Civil Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos told Skai radio on Saturday (January 7).
In the same period, about 256,000 migrants were prevented from crossing the river, which is known as the Evros in Greek, Meriç in Turkish and Maritsa in Bulgarian, news agency dpa reported. The irregular migrants try to cross from Turkey to Greece and thus get into the European Union, Theodorikakos added.
"Our borders are impassable. The fence will be built along the entire length of the Evros River, the construction of the first 35 kilometers is imminent," the minister said in the interview, referring to the border fortifications at the Greek-Turkish land border.
Also read: Greek coast guard detains suspected migrant smugglers after wild chase
'Push forward' allegations
Around one third of all registered migrants had crossed into Greece via its land border with Turkey at the Evros river last year, despite increasing border fortifications there. In August, Greek officials announced an extension of the border fence along that land border with Turkey by 80 kilometers as well as the introduction of new electronic monitoring devices.
By the end of the project, the border with Turkey will reportedly be almost completely sealed off.
Other plans include boosting the Greek border patrol force with extra boats as well as aircraft for its coast guard in the eastern Aegean Sea. The government in Athens said it will even be further beefing up its border security to fend off irregular migrants.
Turkey, has often accused Greece of illegally pushing back migrants towards Turkey -- accusations that have been largely backed up by investigative media reports and international rights organizations, including UN refugee agency UNHCR.
Greece, on the other hand, accuses Turkey of so-called "push forwards:" The migrants are allegedly given the choice by Turkish authorities to go back to Syria or other countries of origin, or to enter Greece illegally, the Greek government repeatedly says, according to information cited by dpa.
More than 18,000 people managed to enter Greece irregularly in 2022, IOM figures show. That was twice as many as in 2021, when just over 9,000 migrants arrived in the EU member state.
Read more: Turkey says it rescued 81 migrants, accuses Greece of sea pushbacks
Lucrative and dangerous business
Migrant smuggling is a highly profitable and highly organized business -- especially in these borders regions. Some smuggling networks transport thousands of migrants into Europe each year.
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), migrant smuggling is the "facilitation, for financial or other material gain, of irregular entry into a country where the migrant is not a national or resident."
The main difference between migrant smuggling and human trafficking, according to UNODC, is "financial or material benefit" vs. the actual exploitation of the victim and their person.
However, the high number of arrests of smugglers on these routes further highlights the dangers that migrants face while trying to reach European countries with the help of smugglers. In addition to risking their lives, they never know for sure if their investment will ever pay out if the smugglers they dealt with are apprehended.
with dpa