Pakistani national arrested in Greece for facilitating entry of illegal immigrants

Athens, July 2 (IANS) A 19-year-old Pakistani national was arrested in Greece on charges of providing accommodation to three illegal migrants.

The arrest was made during a police operation in Sykies, Thessaloniki, according to local media reports.

The Greek media outlet Newsbeast reported that the migrants identified as one Afghan and two Eritrean nationals, believed to have entered Greece illegally after each paid $3,000, in a smuggling network operating in Turkey.

According to the local police statement, the investigation revealed that the migrants were without travel documents and their final destination was Athens.

The accused reportedly has been taken to the prosecutor of the first instance in connection with the charges filed against him.

Since 2015, Greece has been a major gateway into the European Union (EU) for migrants and refugees, with over one million arrivals recorded. They usually travel via the ocean route and sometimes lose their lives to accidents.

Last year in December, Xinhua news agency reported that four Pakistani nationals were killed in a boat capsizing incident off the island of Crete in southern Greece, as confirmed by Pakistan's Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch.

"We announce with deep sorrow that, as per the latest information shared by the Greek authorities, four Pakistani nationals have been identified among the dead in Saturday's incidents of capsized boats in the south of Crete Island of Greece," Baloch said

Furthermore, in 2023, more than 300 Pakistani nationals were killed in the capsizing of a packed trawler off the coast of Greece, which exposed the refugee crisis confronting the EU as tens of thousands seek sanctuary from war, persecution, and poverty.

In November 2024, the data released by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex, showed a continued rise in migration flows through the Eastern Mediterranean this year, with a 14-per-cent increase in the first 10 months compared to the same period in 2023.

From January to November 2024, approximately 55,000 arrivals were recorded in Greek waters.

--IANS

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