The Security Office of the Central Port Authority of Piraeus was instrumental in dismantling a migrant smuggling network operating out of the Attica region.

During an operation in the Neos Kosmos neighborhood of Athens, officers arrested a Turkish national against whom a national arrest warrant had been issued by the First Instance Prosecutor’s Office of Samos, along with five other foreign nationals facing charges including migrant smuggling, illegal entry into the country, document forgery, and drug law violations.

Officers from the Central Port Authority’s security division, working alongside the Directorate for Maritime Border Security, had in recent days identified the home of the primary suspect and placed it under discreet surveillance. They then moved to the Neos Kosmos area, where they apprehended the Turkish national outside his residence along with a fellow countryman, aged 38 and 27 respectively.

During the ensuing police check, it emerged that a separate arrest warrant from the Investigating Magistrate of Samos was pending against the 38-year-old, while the 27-year-old was found to be without valid travel documents authorizing his stay in the country. Officers also discovered and confiscated a forged Bulgarian driving license in his possession, which he stated he had purchased for 500 euros, as well as both men’s mobile phones.

A subsequent search of the 38-year-old’s residence in Neos Kosmos, conducted in the presence of a judicial officer, led to the discovery of four additional foreign nationals, one Syrian and three Turkish citizens aged 39, 25, 24, and 29, none of whom held valid travel documents. During the search, authorities also seized a number of travel and identification documents from various countries whose authenticity was considered questionable.