Migrant traffickers attempting to take advantage of the New Year's holidays were thwarted by police in the northern city of Thesslaoniki in the early morning hours of Monday, with three foreign nationals arrested and charged with migrant smuggling.
Authorities stopped a truck on the Egnatia roadway containing 13 foreign nationals who had previously entered the country illegally and were being transported to Thessaloniki. A "look-out" vehicle, moving ahead of the truck, was stopped after a brief chase, with its driver and co-driver arrested.
The trio of alleged traffickers are aged 51, 31, and 25.
Police said the group of foreign nationals had sneaked into Greece at some point along the Evros (Maritsa) River, which marks the frontier between the country and Turkey. No information was given on the nationalities, ages and gender of the detained individuals.
