Migrant smugglers arrested
Coast guard officers arrested two suspected human traffickers off the coast of the eastern Aegean island of Samos on Saturday after they allegedly disembarked at least 75 illegal immigrants from a speedboat. The Merchant Marine Ministry said that the two men arrested were Turkish nationals aged 27 and 29. Officers also detained 75 migrants of various nationalities. The migrants were taken for precautionary medical checks, while the suspected smugglers appeared before a prosecutor and were remanded in custody. Meanwhile, coast guard officers also arrested a 19-year-old man at the port of Patras on Saturday after he allegedly helped illegal migrants onto a truck that was waiting to board a ferry headed for Italy. The 19-year-old resisted arrest, resulting in the injury of a coast guard officer who was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Authorities did not indicate whether any other migrants were detained in the operation.
