Immigrants target Greece’s sea border

Installation of a barbed-wire fence and tightened security measures on Greece’s land border with Turkey have led to an increase in the number of clandestine immigrants seeking to sneak into Europe through the eastern Aegean Sea during the first quarter of 2013, the government said Tuesday as it called for greater burden sharing by its peers in the bloc. A total of 880 immigrants and 13 people smugglers have been detained by the Greek coast guard since the beginning of the year, according to data released Tuesday. Officers intercepted just 32 individuals, including one smuggler, over the same period last year. The immigrant flow has risen as the weather improves. From 135 arrests in January, coast guard officials detained 351 in February and 394 in March.
(09.04.2013) Kathimerini English Edition
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