Smugglers of Illegal Immigrants Arrested in Kalo Limenes, Heraklion
Three teenage human traffickers from South Sudan were arrested by Greek authorities after rescuing over 90 migrants from Libya, highlighting ongoing Mediterranean smuggling risks.
Three underage human traffickers were arrested south of Kalo Limenes, following the rescue of more than 90 illegal immigrants from Libya.
Over the past 24 hours, the Coast Guard has made three significant arrests of alleged traffickers after “rescue” operations (meaning their transport to our country) of illegal immigrants in the sea area south of Kalo Limenes.
On the morning of May 11, the first rescue took place, during which 33 illegal immigrants were located, including 30 men, 2 women, and 1 minor. As part of the investigation, authorities arrested a 16-year-old from South Sudan, who is alleged to have organized their transport from the Libyan coast in exchange for payment.
A few hours later, in a second operation, 57 illegal immigrants were rescued (52 men and 5 minors), with a 15-year-old, also a South Sudanese national, arrested as he is alleged to have acted as the trafficker for this route, which started from Tobruk, Libya.
Additionally, off the coast of Ierapetra, an inflatable boat was found carrying 44 illegal immigrants (36 men and 8 minors), who were safely transferred to the port. During the operation, authorities arrested an 18-year-old from South Sudan, accused of organizing their transport from Libya to Greece.
In all three cases, the detainees face serious charges for illegal entry into the country, facilitating the irregular transport of migrants, and endangering human lives, aiming to curb the dangerous routes across the Mediterranean. However, the two underage alleged traffickers will receive lenient treatment, which is precisely why the human trafficking network advancing migrants to Europe selected them.
