Ten members of a ring arrested in Greece for trafficking more than 500 migrants

Police in Greece have arrested 10 members of a ring accused of trafficking more than 500 migrants. They were arrested in coordinated operations in the country's north-western region and in Thessaloniki.

In a statement on Friday, Greek police said the investigation had found evidence of at least 41 migrant transport incidents since June 2025. Police believe the ring earned at least 750,000 euros illegally.

The trafficked migrants are citizens of Nepal, Yemen and China. They entered Greece on foot through rugged mountain paths from Albania. They were first taken to the Thesprotia area in the north-west of the country.

According to the allegations, the traffickers arranged temporary stays for the migrants in various accommodation centres or temporary tents. They also supplied them with food, water and SIM cards. In exchange for these facilities, extra money was collected from the migrants.

The ring then arranged to take them to other areas. Mostly intercity buses were used to send the migrants to the capital Athens and the city of Patras. In some cases they were also sent to various destinations abroad.

It is alleged that some migrants were sent to work illegally on farms in the Peloponnese region. In several cases the suspects seized the migrants' passports as security for unpaid trafficking fees, and later forced them to pay off the money through work.

Of those arrested, nine were picked up from the town of Sagiada in the Thesprotia region near the Albanian border, and one from Thessaloniki. Seven of them are Greek citizens and the other three are foreign nationals.

Among the foreign nationals are two Syrian men and one Albanian woman. Another person, aged 26, suspected of involvement with the ring, had been arrested earlier and is currently in pre-trial detention.

Police said the ring used an internal communication network through various messaging apps, through which they coordinated trafficking operations and exchanged information about police movements and operations.

Police also arrested 21 more foreign nationals for not having valid residence documents. Five of them were found at the home of one suspect, and it is alleged they were working illegally at that person's business.

Searching three houses and one business establishment, police seized three vehicles, mobile phones and other electronic devices, 1,150 euros and four passports.

The operation was conducted with the support of Europol, the European Union's law enforcement cooperation agency. Police units from the Thesprotia, Thessaloniki and Patras regions took part. The arrested suspects are to be produced before the judicial authorities of Thesprotia.