Earlier in the week, more than a hundred migrants managed to reach Greece in small boats, with the majority of them departing from the Turkish coast and heading for the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.
Greek authorities said on September 25 that 107 people had arrived in Greece the previous day, using irregular forms of travel.
The Hellenic Coast Guard said that while some of the migrants managed to reach Greek soil by themselves, others had to be saved by Greek officials to ensure their lives weren't in danger.
Four individuals meanwhile were arrested on suspicion of being part of the smuggling rings that had organized the journeys.
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Over 60 migrants arrive on Aegean islands
Nine of the new arrivals were men found on a sailing yacht, which was anchored just off the island of Samos. Their nationalities have not yet been made public.
According to reports on the Greek news platform ekathimerini, they told Greek officials that they had paid 7,000 euros each for the irregular crossing, departing from the nearby Turkish coast.
Another 27 migrants were taken off a dinghy near the islet of Lipsi, located close to Samos
Meanwhile, 27 individuals were found on a small boat off the Greek island of Rhodes, located further south along the Turkish coast.
Details about those two journeys and their identities are yet to be shared publicly.
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'Stylish' migrants stopped by Turkish authorities
Meanwhile, Turkish authorities managed to stop one boat from departing to Greece in the province of Mugla — an area that is popular with tourists but also attracts many migrants and smugglers.
The 14 migrants were reportedly caught on a boat, with the Turkish news platform Haberler.com commenting that the group were dressed "stylishly" in order to avoid drawing attention to themselves.
This prompted some users to underline the "deception," the migrants were apparently trying to pull off, to disguise themselves as tourists. Under the video post shared about the group of migrants, the outlet also showed several social media comments by locals saying disparaging things about refugees and migrants.
44 migrants manage to reach Gavdos
Irregular migrant journeys to Crete meanwhile continue as well.
On September 24, 44 people managed to arrive on the Greek island of Gavdos, located next to Crete.
Reports indicate that they had embarked on the crossing from Libya, spending several days at sea before safely landing on the island.
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Greece has stepped up its patrols of the Mediterranean to intercept migrants heading for Greece while risking their lives.
The Greek coast guard is supported in its endeavors by the EU's external border agency, Frontex.
From Libya to Greece
To date in 2026, over 28,000 migrants have managed to reach Greece, with more than half of them making landfall on Crete or neighboring Gavdos following perilous sea journeys starting on the Libyan coast.
While Greek officials stress that there is a substantial fall in the number of people crossing Aegean waters to reach Greek islands like Samos, Kos and Lesbos — mostly due to stronger cooperation deals with Turkish authorities, there have been more departures from the Turkish coast in recent weeks.
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The Greek government meanwhile continues to introduce successively harsher penalties on people smugglers in the hope of discouraging them and thus dismantling their business model.
Greece remains one of the main entry points for irregular migrants attempting to reach Europe, alongside Italy and Spain.
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