Major EYP success against Turkish people-smuggling network
Greek authorities dismantled a migrant smuggling network that transported foreign nationals by sailboat from Turkey to Crete, arresting a Ukrainian skipper and rescuing four migrants.
The port authorities managed to dismantle a network that had been operating for approximately one year, transporting migrants from the Turkish coast to Sitia. The case came to light thanks to close cooperation between the EYP and the Directorate of Security and Protection of Maritime Borders.
On the evening of May 26, 2026, officers from the Heraklion Central Port Authority detected four foreign nationals inside the port without legal travel documents. They were two women from Morocco and a man with a woman from Syria. The four were attempting to board a ship bound for Piraeus.
The preliminary investigation revealed that they had arrived early that same morning in Sitia by sailboat, having departed from the Turkish coast on May 24.
Authorities in Sitia were immediately mobilized, conducted extensive checks, and located a sailboat flying the Malaysian flag in the port. The skipper of the vessel was a 48-year-old Ukrainian, whom the four foreign nationals identified as their smuggler. The man was arrested.
Findings and continuation of the case
In a search of the sailboat, conducted in the presence of a prosecutor and Customs officials, knives of various sizes were found, in violation of the weapons law. The preliminary investigation is being conducted by the Sitia Port Authority, while the arrested man will be brought before the Public Prosecutor of the Lasithi Court of First Instance. The four foreign nationals are being transferred to appropriate accommodation facilities.
As the Coast Guard states in its announcement, according to a report by Cretalive, the operation was organized by the Port Authorities of Heraklion, Sitia, and Agios Nikolaos, under the coordination of the 7th Regional Command of the Coast Guard.
The incident comes at a time when migration flows to Crete remain intense, despite the bombastic proclamations of the government of the …”best and brightest”.
