The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Greece: Five border police accused of complicity with Turkish illegal immigration network

2023-05-30T09:44:44.037Z

Highlights: Five border police officers in Greece were charged on Tuesday (May 30th) with alleged complicity with a network that smuggled migrants into the country from Turkey. They are accused of helping to smuggle an unknown number of migrants into Greece on at least twelve occasions in the northeastern region of Didymoteicho. Sixty mobile phones, Turkish liras and banknotes from several Asian countries were found, police said. Thousands of migrants, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, have arrived in Greece from Turkey in recent years in the hope of entering Western Europe.


Five border police officers in Greece were charged on Tuesday (May 30th) with alleged complicity with a network that brought in...


Five border police officers in Greece were charged on Tuesday (May 30th) with alleged complicity with a network that smuggled migrants into the country from Turkey.

The five police officers were brought before the prosecutor's office in the northeastern city of Orestiada, a day after the internal affairs division of the police announced their arrest on suspicion of having received bribes and failure to comply with their duties.

Increase in crossing attempts

They are accused of helping to smuggle an unknown number of migrants into Greece on at least twelve occasions in the northeastern region of Didymoteicho, according to a police statement. "According to the first elements of the investigation, the police have been in contact with networks in Turkey since at least October and they would have practiced actions or omissions aimed at facilitating the entry of (non-European) nationals into our country," the statement added. Sixty mobile phones, Turkish liras and banknotes from several Asian countries were found, police said.

See alsoGreece extends the wall at the Turkish border to block migrants

Thousands of migrants, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, have arrived in Greece from Turkey in recent years in the hope of entering Western Europe. Increased patrols in the Aegean Sea are making it more difficult for migrants to access the Greek islands, and more and more are trying to cross the Evros, the river separating Turkey from Greece, for smugglers to take them by road. Athens has decided to extend within a year by 35 km this five-meter-high metal fence that runs along the Evros. The fence is currently 37.5 km long, according to government data, which aims to extend it by another 100 km by 2026.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-05-30

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.