Authorities on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos on Monday revealed that 10 individuals, four members of a same number of NGOs along with six other foreign nationals, face charges of espionage and facilitating the illegal entry of third country nationals onto Greek territory.
Authorities on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos on Monday revealed that 10 individuals, four members of a same number of NGOs along with six other foreign nationals, face charges of espionage and facilitating the illegal entry of third country nationals onto Greek territory.
An indictment citing numerous and repeated instances of felonies has already been conveyed to relevant prosecutors.
Greek law enforcement said the lengthy investigation uncovered a specific organized smuggling ring ferrying third country nationals onto a handful of islands in the northeast Aegean from the opposite Turkish coast.
The latest official reference to a migrant smuggling ring, replete with the involvement of individuals affiliated with NGOs, cites an investigation that began in June 2020.
The 10 suspects, who are named in the indictment, face charges of offering substantive support to organized migrant smugglers under the guise of humanitarian activity, using closed internet groups and applications for communication.
Specifically, Greek authorities claimed that members of the alleged ring provided exact information to Turkey-based smugglers, and also received information, such as collection points on the Turkish coast for would-be asylum seekers, time of departure of migrant boats, geographic coordinates, the number of undocumented people loaded onto boats and inflatable craft, as well as sea conditions for travel to Lesvos, Chios and Samos.
The final landing point on Greek territory (i.e. the islands) was also conveyed, Greek authorities said.
Once landed on Greek territory, authorities said the suspects would provide disembarked illegal migrants with directions towards remote areas on each island, or towards refugee camps and healthcare facilities, in order to frustrate local police units' attempts to locate them.
Several units of Greek law enforcement, including the Hellenic Coast Guard and the intelligence service, participated in the investigation.
The foreign nationals implicated include at least one American citizen, a Norwegian, a UK national, Syrians and Afghans.
The massive influx third country nationals landing on a handful of Greek islands in the northeast Aegean, after boarding boats and other craft from western Turkey, began in earnest in the spring of 2015, with the final destination being countries in central and western Europe, especially Germany.
Taking advantage of an initial lenient "no borders" policy by the then leftist SYRIZA government to allow boats and floats filled with third country nationals to land on the Greek isles, more than a million people were ferried by traffickers operating in Turkey. At first, Syrian war refugees made up the biggest portion of the would-be asylum seekers, but were soon followed by Iraqis, people from other parts of the Middle East and then from various regions and states between North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa to south Asia.
The influx was more-or-less ended less than a year later when countries along a "migrant route" to the north, especially the Republic of North Macedonia, closed their border to irregular migrants and stepped up the guarding of borders.