The Greek authorities detained five people suspected of migrant smuggling on the island of Samos in the Aegean Sea. The detention follows a rescue of 34 migrants from the sea off Samos on March 30. Authorities in Athens were also busy breaking a suspected smuggling ring, reported the local press.
The Greek coast guard, working in conjunction with the Samos port authorities, the directorate of security and protection of maritime borders (DAPTHAS) and the National Intelligence Service (NIS), say they dismantled an "organized illegal migrant smuggling ring."
"Following months of investigation and the use of information, an operation was organized and implemented on April 4, which led to the arrest of members of the ring," declared a statement from the Hellenic Coast Guard, issued on April 5.
Two Turkish nationals, reported to be aged 26 and 34, were arrested and identified as the traffickers of 34 foreigners whom they had transported by speedboat from the Turkish coast, explained the Greek Coast Guard. Another three foreigners, reported to be Turkish, Syrian and Iraqi nationals aged 45, 24 and 43 respectively, who are thought to have acted as their accomplices on land were additionally arrested.
According to preliminary investigations, these three are accused of providing accommodation, supplies and means of transport for the escape and concealment of the two speedboat operators on the island.
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'Structured criminal organization'
Greek authorities said those arrested are thought to be members of a "structured criminal organization with a long and systematic activity in the illegal trafficking of immigrants in Greece."
The Samos port authorities have confiscated the speedboats used in the operation as well as five mobile telephone devices. The DAPTHAS is now analyzing and processing the information that has emerged, "with the aim of dismantling the criminal organization and investigating the possible participation of those arrested in other cases, as well as their collaboration with members of organized crime groups with the same or similar criminal activities."
Since the beginning of the year, more than 5,755 migrants have entered Greece via land and sea. The data was last updated by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on March 29. The majority of those arrivals have been from North Africa towards the southern Greek island of Crete, where more than 2,101 migrants have arrived. On Samos, by the end of March, it was recorded that just 302 people had arrived. However, the 34 migrants involved in this smuggling operation were rescued a day later, on March 30.
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Athens police also arrest suspected smugglers
Meanwhile, last week, on March 31, police in Athens said they had also managed to break up a suspected smuggling ring. Police told Greek newspaper Ekathimerini that the ring is accused of providing migrants with fake documents to enable them to travel on into the European Union.
A statement from police said the group had "maintained at least three dormitories where migrants could stay in Athens while their forged papers were being prepared."
Ekathimerini reported that three people were arrested on suspicion of running the criminal organization, while police also arrested six migrants aged 19-53 who were found in one of the dormitories.
Police told the news outlet they believed this particular ring had been active since at least September 2025 and was responsible for organizing the illegal entry into Greece for migrants via long-distance buses to Athens, as well as offering them a place to stay and providing them with papers for onward travel. Each migrant is believed to have been charged between 5,000 and 10,000 euros for this service, reported Ekathimerini.
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