Smuggling

Greek border police say they have rescued about 70 migrants stranded on a berm on the Greek-Turkish border after they crossed the river dividing the two countries and found the fields on the Greek side flooded following days of heavy rainfall.

Large group of smugglers of migrants from Kosovo arrested

THE HAGUE -- European police forces have dismantled a large international criminal network that smuggled irregular migrants to Western European countries for money.

The announcement was made by Europol on Wednesday.

Turkish police have detained two Georgians on the border between the two countries, after one hid herself inside a suitcase in order to be smuggled into Turkey.

Sixteen people have been arrested in connection with an international human-trafficking ring that allegedly earned 8 million euros from smuggling Syrian migrants from Turkey into Greece, European police organization Europol announced Tuesday in The Hague.

Two Serbian citizens charged with people smuggling

BUDAPEST -- The Hungarian police has launched proceedings against two citizens of Serbia accused of human trafficking.

On March 9, the Hungarian border police found four citizens of Serbia trying to illegally reach western Europe, traveling in a car with Italian plates driven by a Serbian citizen.

I??l E?rikavuk isil.egrikavuk@hdn.com.tr Turkey is appealing to the European Union to help it combat the phenomenon of ghost ships used by smugglers to send hundreds of migrants at a time toward European shores.
     

It could be a scene from a thriller: a ghost ship abandoned in the crystal-clear bay of a Greek island, its hold crammed with millions of illegal cigarettes, the crew nowhere to be seen.

And no one knows where the freighter Amaranthus or its cargo were bound for when it beached on the island of Zanthe off the Ionian coast of western Greece in December.

Due to increasingly violent situations in the Mediterranean due to efforts to curb migrant smuggling, amongst others, the Italian Coast Guard has requests that its officers carry side arms.

According to an announcement, “officers face dangerous situations on a daily basis”.

German tabloid Bild reported that the list that the Greek government is planning to submit to its EU partners includes measures that could bring more than 7 bln euros to the Greek economy.

At least seven migrants were killed when a boat capsized and sank off Turkey's southwestern province of Mu?la Feb. 7.

There were around 15 people on board when the boat sank after its engine collapsed off the Hisarönü port city near the Marmaris district, Mu?la Governor Amir Çiçek said, adding that six people were also rescued.