NEWS

New wave of migrants is feared

As police arrested another 182 illegal immigrants in southern Greece yesterday, authorities in Crete expressed fears that thousands of Asian refugees have reached the Aegean coast of Turkey and are waiting to make their way over to Greece. The head of the Rethymnon port authority, Giorgos Valgerakis, said that he believed some 20,000 illegal immigrants are seeking a way into Greece or Italy. Earlier, police arrested 156 Moroccan illegal immigrants who disembarked early in the morning from an unknown vessel at the mouth of the Geropotamos River, close to Rethymnon. Meanwhile, police near Galatas, in the northeastern Peloponnese, arrested 14 members of an immigrant-smuggling gang early yesterday morning, together with seven illegal immigrants who had just been landed. Later in the day, another 19 immigrants were arrested. Interior Minister Vasso Papandreou said yesterday that Greece will seek international cooperation in order to fight illegal immigration.

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights, opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox.

By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.