A report in the Athens daily on Thursday cited Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris as declaring as much during his meeting in Berlin this week with German Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt

The third country nationals would then be transferred to the mainland via regular ferry boat routes, temporarily hosted at “safe houses” in the greater Athens area then be provided forged travel docs in order to fly to west European destinations

Suspects charged up to 8,000 euros for forged documents and subsequent air travel to other European destinations via the Athens International Airport

Speaking at an off-the-agenda debate in Parliament on Thursday on foreign policy issues, PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis referred to an initiative by Athens for a future meeting of Mediterranean states of the wider region

Efforts aim at continuing high-level cooperation between both sides, especially in the field of combating illegal migration and the activity of migrant smuggling networks

The case has sparked strong domestic and international outcry, with human rights groups highlighting major failures in the rescue and investigation.

Initial 8.5-kilometer fence on Turkish side of the border in the Thrace province announced by Edirne governor

Blame game intensifies over the deadly Pylos shipwreck, as Greek officials continue to point fingers following the tragic loss of 560 lives.

Latest migrant smuggling incident occurred just south of the port of Mytiline, on the large island of Lesvos; 30 third country nationals later picked up onshore

18 people were rescued in the water, with search and rescue efforts commenced before dawn and continued throughout the day; 3 survivors seriously injured

Media reports later cited five fatalities, dozens missing; 124 people rescued in 3 separate incidents involving migrant boats in the same sea region over recent period

Greece imprisoned 9 migrants for over a year on trumped-up charges of smuggling in connection to the Pylos Shipwreck, says a special investigation by Solomon and ARIJ, and published by El País, Die Tageszeitung, and the New Humanitarian.

Rescued group claims smugglers threw them into the waters off southern Rhodes

According to reports, approximately 31 individuals were on board the vessel, with 27 of them finally rescued.

Media reports on Tuesday: 17 European nations, including Greece, call for new laws to achieve 'effective returns' to deal with irregular migrant issue

Videos posted on various Turkish-language social media on Friday show the scene in the Bay of Akyarlar, near the resort of Bodrum

Vehicle loaded with seven undocumented migrants from Nepal stopped; another 11 discovered in a 'safe house', including individuals from Tibet

Speedboat loaded with migrants detected near Symi while trying to approach the Greek isle; craft's pilot reported as the fatality

The incident isn't the first time that smugglers have used the same method to avoid roadblocks, often times with fatal results, including the death of unsuspecting motorists

The Greek side also countered a Turkish DM post claiming a push back by saying the Turkish coast guard was informed and arrived to deal with the small vessel