A well-organised human trafficking gang transporting migrants from the Turkish coast to the island of Rhodes has been uncovered, as a result of the coordinated actions of the Hellenic Coast Guard.
According to Greek authorities, coast guard officers acting on a tip-off on Sunday spotted a suspicious yacht moving at high speed in the sea region "Lachania" near Rhodes, bound for Turkiye.
A Coast Guard patrol boat immediately set off in pursuit, with sound and visual signals to the other vessel to stop. Despite engaging in dangerous evasive manoeuvers, the yacht was finally brought to a standstil and its three occupants - Turkish nationals aged 39, 44, and 45, respectively - were placed under arrest.
Meanwhile, police officers on land located 76 undocumented migrants (29 men, 17 women and 30 minors) in the surrounding area. According to the migrants' testimony, they had boarded a dinghy on the Turkish coast that took them to the yacht, each paying 5,500 euros for their passage to Greece.
The preliminary investigation revealed an organised human smuggling network. The 39-year-old was identified as the main trafficker, the 45-year-old as the operator of the auxiliary vessel and assistant to the former, while the 44-year-old is believed to have acted as the coordinator of the transport operation from Turkiye to Greece.
The three Turkish nationals were arrested and are facing charges for participation in a criminal organisation, facilitating illegal entry into Greece and violation of the law on the illegal entry of foreign nationals.
The two vessels used in the transfer, the yacht and the inflatable dinghy, were confiscated.