Migrant smugglers held

ATHENS: Six people have been arrested on charges of facilitating the illegal transport of migrants from Greece to Italy with yachts, Greek police said on Saturday.

Police raids on the island of Corfu and in the region around Athens on Friday led to the arrest of five foreign nationals and a Greek man accused of taking part in a criminal organisation that has been operating since June 2019.

According to a police statement, its members bought vessels, mainly yachts, that could carry at least 15 people, and declared the owners to be Bulgarian for the most part.

Migrants willing to pay 5,500 euros ($6,300) were sent to Corfu by land in groups of four, where they were booked into hotels.

The foreign-flagged yachts were then brought to nearby ports where the migrants could board discretely.

When they were arrested on Friday, the smugglers were transporting 23 migrants from Corfu to Italy.