Greek police arrested eight migrant smugglers near the northeastern border with Turkey over the past three days, after o...

Greek police arrested eight migrant smugglers near the northeastern border with Turkey over the past three days, after officers intercepted vehicles carrying a total of 40 migrants who had just crossed into Greece. Two of the arrested suspects were driving without licenses. In one case, a suspect was behind the wheel of a stolen car transporting 11 people toward Thessaloniki. Another suspect veered off the road trying to evade police, though no one was injured in that incident. The most serious case came when police in the Evros region found a car that had overturned in the middle of the road with nine migrants inside. Eight of them were taken to hospital for their injuries, and the suspected smuggler was arrested near the scene. Over the weekend, five more suspects were taken into custody after officers stopped cars packed with a total of 20 people. All eight suspects were identified only as foreign nationals. Greece has built a high metal fence along much of the Evros land border to block illegal crossings, but thousands of people from the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and Africa still enter the country illegally each year. According to authorities, at least 15,000 people have arrived by land and sea so far in 2026, with many crossing in small boats from Libya to the island of Crete. #Evros #Immigration #Greece