Migrant smuggler arrested
Police arrested in Xanthi, northeastern Greece, on Saturday a 25-year-old Greek man accused of human trafficking after he allegedly took part in an operation to smuggle 23 illegal immigrants into the country. The suspect was caught transporting the illegal immigrants, mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan, in his truck which was traveling on the Xanthi-to-Komotini national highway. Police believe he picked up the migrants in Alexandroupolis, near the Greek-Turkish border, and was expected to drive them to Athens. The immigrants told police that they had each paid $2,500 (1,962 euros) to the organizers of a human-trafficking ring in Istanbul for the trip into Greece. The driver was expected to earn a 5,000-euro fee for transporting the migrants to the capital. Police believe that the driver is part of an international human-trafficking ring. Authorities are conducting a manhunt for the man they believe would have paid the driver in Athens.
