Police note rise in undocumented migrants and traffickers
The number of undocumented migrants entering the country, as well as the number of human traffickers arrested in Greece, rose sharply from May to July compared to the same period in 2021, police said on Tuesday.
In releasing statistics on the first seven months of the year, the police said most of the human traffickers were arrested on the Evros land borders with Turkey.
Of a total 386 traffickers arrested at land or sea borders from January to July, 312 were apprehended in the Evros region.
Of the latter, in particular, 219 were arrested in the last three months (May-July 2022), an increase of 58.7% over the same period in 2021.
In a similar way, the entry of undocumented migrants to Greece rose 113.1% from May to July (4,126 migrants) compared to the same period in 2021.
In total, 7,484 migrants were arrested for illegal entry to Greece in the first seven months of the year. Of the total, 3,554 were arrested in the Evros border region.
The Greek police said that they have achieved significant results in arresting traffickers, in collaboration with domestic and EU agencies, at Greece’s EU borders.
They also said protecting human lives was a priority. [AMNA]
