Truckers block ports, borders
Hundreds of long-haul truck drivers yesterday staged blockades at several key ports and border crossings, calling on authorities to intensify inspections on foreign trucks entering the country and crack down on illegal immigrants sneaking onto their vehicles. More than 2,000 trucks joined the action, blocking the main ports of Patras and Corinth, in central Greece, the northwestern port of Igoumenitsa and the crossings of Evzones and Promachonas, at the borders with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria respectively. The truckers complain that drivers bringing foreign goods into Greece are treated too leniently by authorities. «Greek trucks always get pulled over for inspections but the foreign ones cross the border without any checks,» said Apostolos Kenanidis, head of the union representing the truckers. Another of the drivers’ gripes is that they often face legal action when would-be migrants are found hidden in their vehicles.
