Greek Police Free Contained Migrants

ATHENS, Aug 16: Greek police said on Sunday they freed 10 migrants who had been kept in a shipping container in Athens and were mistreated by smugglers for a month.

In a statement, the police said the migrants – who included a Somali, a Syrian, and eight Pakistanis – had come into Greece via Turkey, and then were put into the container in the industrial suburb of Aspropyrgos.

They were mistreated ‘daily’ by smugglers who demanded that they each pay 4,000 euros (5,700 dollars), on top of the 7,000 euros they had already each paid for their journey, police said.

A Greek man, aged 60, has been arrested on suspicion of running a network that smuggled Pakistanis into Greece – a gateway for migrants hoping to enter western Europe – via Turkey. Five suspected accomplices – two Greeks, two Pakistanis and an Indian national – are being sought.—AFP