Police smash migrant smuggler ring as naval patrols are stepped up

Police have smashed an international criminal gang smuggling migrants and refugees into Europe through Greece. Officers arrested 12 people from Pakistan, Egypt, Iraq and Syria in raids on apartments and other locations across Athens. They confiscated hundreds of fake identity cards, passports and other documents. The smugglers were divided into six units which helped migrants travel from Turkey via the Greek island of Kos on to Macedonia and Italy on planes, buses and trains, police said in a statement on Wednesday.

There are hundreds of thousands of refugees now coming into Europe full of hope because they see Europe as an area of peace, justice and prosperity. We can’t let these people down. We can’t disappoint them. We have to be generous

Spain’s King Felipe VI

The breakthrough came as the European Union redoubled its efforts to intercept boats smuggling migrants in the southern Mediterranean . Under Operation Sophia, named after a baby born on an EU ship which rescued her mother, naval vessels will be able to board, search, seize and divert vessels suspected of being used for people smuggling. Until now, the EU has focused on surveillance and rescue operations with its EUNavfor Med operation launched in June. Meanwhile, the migrant crisis is likely to feature when German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Francois Hollande make a rare joint address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

migrants Europe