"At noon yesterday, (July 11)) the Port Authority of Symi was informed about the existence of a sufficient number of foreigners on the islet of Seskli, Symi," stated a press release from the Greek coast guard issued on July 12.

The coast guard later issued an update, saying they had rounded up "25 foreigners, among them 19 men and six minors" and transported them to the port of Symi.

The coast guard said that the migrants told the Greek authorities they had set off from Bodrum in Turkey a few hours before they were found on a speed boat, and had paid the sum of 4,000 euros each for transport to Greece. Their vessel was reportedly damaged.

The coast guard arrested one of the group, a 37-year-old Syrian citizen on charges of smuggling the rest of the group. Preliminary investigations are ongoing, stated the coast guard.

Forged documents

Also on July 11, the Greek authorities arrested two foreigners during the loading of passenger boats. They found that the two men, a 31-year-old and a 55-year-old had been attempting to board the passenger ferry towards the port of Piraeus, which serves as one of the ports in the capital Athens, with forged travel documents.

It was not confirmed from which country these two suspects originally came, or indeed whether they were migrants. Preliminary investigations are being carried out by the port authorities in Karpathos and Kasos where they were discovered trying to board the same ship that called at both ports on its way to Piraeus.

Two groups of migrants found on Wednesday

Reports in the English-language Greek newspaper Ekathimerini suggested that the coast guard had also rescued 22 migrants from an islet east of Leros in the south-eastern Aegean on Wednesday (July 10).

They reported that this group of migrants had been found on an islet about four kilometers from Leros. The coast guard took the group to the island’s closed migration center.

After preliminary investigations, reported Ekathimerini, the police arrested one of the group, a 23-year-old man suspected of having smuggled the rest of the group. They are accusing him of illegal entry into the country, trafficking third-country nationals and endangering life, reported Ekathimerini.

Also on Wednesday, the Greek authorities said they had found a group of 39 migrants "near a beach on Symi." That group reportedly had 13 children in it.