Greek police have arrested 20 suspects in a major people-smuggling operation. Raids across Athens uncovered counterfeit documents, cash, and equipment, as Greece grapples with rising migration from the Middle East and Africa.
Greek police have detained 20 suspected members of a people trafficking gang linked to more than 500 cases of illegal entry, the ERTNews broadcaster reported on Thursday, citing police headquarters in Athens. The gang is alleged to have supplied migrants with counterfeit travel documents to facilitate travel to other European Union nations.
According to authorities, the organisation -- led by a Syrian national and comprising mostly Syrian and Egyptian members -- earned around 4 million euros (4.5 million US dollars) from its operations. Raids on multiple premises across Greater Athens uncovered workshops for forging passports and stamps, along with large sums of cash and high-end technical equipment. Greek investigators said fake documents were sold for up to 4,000 euros, depending on quality.
Police special forces raided several locations across the Greater Athens area that were being used as workshops to forge travel documents. Authorities seized numerous counterfeit passports and official stamps, along with large sums of money and sophisticated technical equipment.
According to investigators, the fake passports were sold for upwards of 4,000 euros, depending on their quality.
Greece continues to serve as a key entry point for migrants from the Middle East and Africa, with new arrivals reported almost daily. Most hope to use Greece as a transit country, aiming to reach other parts of the European Union.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 12,800 migrants arrived in Greece this year up to Sunday (May 18).
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A harsh legal framework
Greece’s anti-smuggling law, introduced in 2014, carries sentences of up to 25 years. Under this legislation, anyone found facilitating irregular entry -- including migrants themselves -- can be charged as a trafficker. Today, those convicted of smuggling are the second-largest group in Greek prisons after drug offenders.
Greece’s anti-smuggling laws prosecute individuals who assist in unauthorized border crossings -- including asylum seekers who steer boats or drive vehicles -- as smugglers, leading to severe prison sentences. The law imposes a minimum of 10 years, with added time for each life endangered. Critics argue it disproportionately punishes vulnerable migrants who take on such roles out of necessity, not profit, and fails to target actual smuggling networks. As a result, the law has significantly increased migrant-related incarcerations in Greece.
Legal experts and human rights groups argue the law is not only unjust but counterproductive. Spyros Pantazis, a criminal defence lawyer based in Athens, calls the law "a timeless governmental weapon" designed to deter migration, yet deeply flawed in practice.
"In reality, it is completely useless," he told The Guardian. "It fills Greek prisons with people who have no criminal past or connection to organized networks."
Human rights experts say that Greece’s approach may violate international obligations, such as the UN Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants, which prohibits prosecuting migrants for facilitating their own smuggling.
While islands like Lesbos and Samos were once primary points of arrival, Crete has now emerged as Greece’s main migrant gateway. Since January 2025, it has accounted for over a quarter of all arrivals. More than 2,500 people, many from Sudan, have reached Crete this year alone -- a sixfold increase from 2023, according to UNHCR.
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With dpa