In the revelation of two organizations that were part of an organized criminal network, whose members were systematically active in facilitating the illegal entry of foreigners into Greek territory through Lesvos, the Greek Police revealed late this afternoon.
The involvement of 21 people was found in these organizations, among them, members of an international organization and a non-governmental organization and residents of a Closed Controlled Structure on the island of Lesvos. While 16 more people are included in the criminal file.
The criminal case file of the Mytilini Security sub-directorate includes the offenses of forming and joining a criminal organization, as well as violations of the Immigration Code.
According to an official announcement, the Security sub-directorate of Mytilini, in collaboration with the Intelligence Collection and Management department and officers of the General Regional Police Directorate of the North Aegean, the Migration Management Department of Lesbos, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and with the essential assistance of the 9th Regional Administration of the Coast Guard - Hellenic Coast Guard and the Central Port Authority of Mytilene, conducted from September 2022 until July 25, 2023, a criminal investigation into the migratory flows-arrivals recorded in the area of responsibility of the Lesvos Police Directorate, during the period from 01-09-2022 to 30-04-2023.
As it emerged from the research, during this period 139 migration flows arrived on Lesbos, during which 4.050 third-country nationals entered the island.
As it was established, these migratory flows were pretentious, as they presented during their development a sequence of actions of traffickers, cooperating persons, members of support groups and members of M.K.O. and common features such as:
- The traffickers provided Turkey with instructions and directions to the trafficked persons, enforcing compliance with them, before departure, during the voyage and upon arrival of the boat on the island of Lesvos, either verbally or using encrypted communication applications, as well as they provided similar instructions for the case-by-case communication with various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) upon their arrival on the island of Lesvos and their hiding in inaccessible land areas.
- The newly arrived nationals of third countries, upon their arrival in Lesvos, were hidden in inaccessible land areas, after first being divided into smaller groups and then communicating with the non-governmental organizations, sending relevant information.
- It was then followed by the non-governmental organizations to the Authorities, the sending of emails with the information they allegedly received from the trafficked persons upon their arrival in Lesvos, as well as an online posting on the arrival of the boat and of newly arrived persons on social media pages maintained by M.K.O., in which they stated that newly arrived third-country nationals needed "immediate medical assistance".
- The members of non-governmental organizations, at the same time as they were informed about the migrant arrival, went to the areas where, based on the information, the newly arrived third-country nationals were located, under the pretext of providing them with humanitarian-medical assistance.
From the preliminary examination carried out, which included the examination of witnesses, the evaluation of the information contained in 191 e-mails, the declassification of telephone communications, the laboratory examination of seized evidence and the general police investigation, it emerged that formation and the inclusion of natural persons in two criminal organizations, their purpose and the criminal behavior of their members as the case may be.
specifically:
A total of twenty so far known – identified natural persons and one unidentified, of foreign origin (traffickers – persons cooperating with them located in a country of the European Union – third-country nationals residing in the Closed Controlled Structure of the Island (K.E.D.N.) of Lesvos , support groups - members of M.K.O.), as well as 16 unidentified natural persons - users of telephone connections, who allegedly provided information to M.K.O. for the arrivals of the migratory flows, acting with intention and being in a sequence of actions and actions, they proceeded, by profession and by habit for a fee, to facilitate the trafficking of at least 31 completed boat arrivals during which 946 nationals of third countries were trafficked to the Lesvos, but also in at least five cases of attempted migration flows, which took place between January and March 2023, using illegal methods and procedures.
More specifically:
- The six members of the two criminal organizations (traffickers) located in Turkey, were found to have given specific instructions and directions to Turkey, either during the voyage, or upon the boat's arrival on the island, verbally or using encrypted communication applications to the trafficked persons, regarding the navigation, and enforced the observance of these (instructions), having as a more specific purpose the return to them (traffickers) of the illegal monetary fees from the traffic, which were deposited on a case-by-case basis by the trafficked immigrants, before the start of each flow or after it, in two money transfer offices located in cities of Turkey. The money in question was disbursed and came into the possession of the traffickers after the confirmed arrival of the migratory flows on the island of Lesvos, either by direct communication of the traffickers with the intermediaries or the trafficked persons, or by the posts about the arrivals on social media M.K. O., or with the certified arrival of the members of the M.K.O. at the detection points.
- The two persons cooperating with the traffickers, who are in a foreign country, were found to have given specific instructions and directions to the trafficked persons in Turkey before the start of the migration flow, but also upon its arrival on the island of Lesvos, using encrypted communication applications regarding their attitude, both during the sailing of the boat, and upon its arrival on the Greek shores and they informed members of M.K.O. for the arrivals, with the aim of moving them to the hiding places of the newly arriving persons at a time prior to the time of their detection by the competent Greek Authorities.
- The two support groups residing in the Closed Controlled Structure (KEDN) of Lesvos, during the time period from 01-09-2022 to 30-04-2023, it was found that, on a case-by-case basis, they carried out specific actions - actions, such as providing instructions during the navigation of the boats, providing information to the traffickers about their arrivals, encouraging the selection of the traffickers of the specific criminal network, gathering and also sending through money transfer companies the necessary for the realization of the traffic sums of money, the provision of instructions to the traffickers to hide in wooded-difficult areas, as well as the observance of the necessary security measures, the information of non-governmental organizations, about the time and place of arrival of boats in Lesbos, with the aim of timely locating the traffickers of persons from their members, which constituted an insurance barrier for the release of the money and finally the identification of individual traffickers who arrived on the island of Lesvos and their transfer to K.ED.N., as well as traffickers who had not made the release of proceeds of trafficking, using violence or threats of violence to achieve release.
From the entire investigative process regarding the sequence of action of the two criminal organizations with the M.K.O., a significant number of M.K.O. members emerged. which had a physical presence in the areas where the boats arrived and where the newly arrived people were located.
In addition, from the data provided by the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum, regarding registration or not in the Register of Greek and Foreign N.K.O., it emerged in particular from their statutes for two of the N.K.O. that were investigated, that none of them explicitly provides for the legalization of their actions regarding their operation during the arrivals of boats in Lesbos.
Also, for M.K.O. for which in the year 2020 and 2021, respectively, criminal files of a felony nature have been filed by the Security Sub-Directorate of Mytilene and investigated, no legalization of activity exists even today in the Greek territory due to their non-registration in the aforementioned Register.
Worthy of special mention according to the Police are the conclusions drawn from the investigation process in general.
Specifically, it was found that:
- There are trafficker communications with trafficked persons.
- There are trafficker communications with a Support Team member.
- There is communication between a person cooperating with the traffickers who is in a foreign country, with a trafficked person.
Of the telephone connections that provided information on migrant arrivals in M.K.O., a significant number of them did not use Greek telephone networks, while also for a significant number of telephone connections it was found that they either operated in different areas of the territory than that of Lesvos ( Samos, Evros, Rodopi, Athens), or they showed movement activity not linked to specific migration flows - arrivals.
The unidentified persons who provided information to the M.K.O. in a significant number of completed boat arrivals, their connection with traffickers was also established.
There is a frequent change of mobile devices, numbers of telephone connections by Support Teams staff, as well as regular communications between them. The use of telephone connections belonging to a natural person of known identity, but unknown residence, in whose name a significant number of telephone connections operate, was also found.
There are communications of a member of the Support Group, with telephone connections of a foreign country, which are used by M.K.O. two executives of which are also part of a Support Group.
There is a series of M.K.O. communications. with Support Team executives.
Source: RES-EAP / File Image: Euronews