Greek authorities have busted a smuggling ring accused of illegally bringing in over 500 migrants into the country. Police say that some of their victims were temporarily trafficked into working at agricultural farms to pay off their debts.
Officials in Greece confirmed that ten suspects were taken into custody following a series of coordinated raids across northwestern Greece and the northern city of Thessaloniki.
Nine of the suspects were detained in the border town of Sagiada, while a tenth was apprehended in Thessaloniki.
Police said seven of them were Greek nationals, alongside one Albanian and two Syrian nationals. Searches of related properties yielded three vehicles, multiple electronic devices, four migrant passports and a small amount of cash, they added.
The suspects are due to appear before a magistrate to face criminal charges.
A 26-year-old believed to be an accomplice was apparently already in pretrial detention at the time of the operation.
The joint operation involved several regional police jurisdictions as well as operational assistance by Europol.
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Gang suspected of smuggling 500 migrants into Greece since 2025
Greek police said the gang was believed to have brought around 500 migrants into the country illegally, saying that officials had uncovered at least 41 separate smuggling incidents dating back to June 2025.
Investigators say the criminal enterprise generated over 750,000 euros in illicit profits.
During the raids, police said they also detained 21 undocumented foreign nationals, including five who were found to be living at one of the suspects' residence, and working illegally at a business run by that alleged smuggler.
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Migrants charged inflated fees for basic necessities
According to authorities, the network helped bring in people from Nepal, Yemen, and China, guiding the migrants on foot across rugged mountain trails spanning from Albania into Greece.
The group reportedly held the migrants in temporary accommodation or makeshift tents as part of their smuggling strategies, charging them inflated fees for the most basic of necessities — including food, water, and SIM cards for their mobile phone.
Once in Greece, the smugglers arranged onward transits coaches buses, according to reports, taking the irregular migrants to major cities like Athens, or onward to international destinations in certain instances.
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Some migrants pushed into forced labor
Authorities also said that several migrants were forced to work on agricultural farms across the Peloponnese Peninsula.
Reports indicate that the ring typically confiscated the passports of migrants who owed them money, holding the documents as collateral to coerce them into working off their debts.