2023-11-27T05:21:51+00:00
A-
A
A+
/ Greek police announced the arrest of six people who they say are members of a large human smuggling gang that extorted money from migrants to help them cross into neighboring Albania and travel to the European Union countries in the north.
The police said in a statement issued last night that the six suspects, a Syrian, a Palestinian, and four Iraqis, were arrested the day before yesterday, Saturday, in a village less than 10 kilometers from the Albanian border.
Seven more gang members were arrested in the same area on September 28, at which time 11 migrants were found detained in shacks and abandoned military sites.
The police reported at the time that the smugglers, who had already collected more than 1,000 euros (about 1,100 dollars) from each migrant to help them cross into Albania, detained them and demanded an additional amount of 1,500 euros (1,640 dollars).
According to the police, the smugglers tortured the migrants, videotaped the torture sessions and sent the footage to relatives of the victims in the Middle East and South Asia.
This time, no migrants were found with the smugglers, the Associated Press reported.
According to police, they are searching for seven other gang members who are still at large.