Cyprus police say they have busted third people smuggling ring in 3 months

2023-10-24 08:26:02

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus police announced Tuesday the arrest of 10 Syrian men in an operation that dismantled the third smuggling ring bringing migrants to the nation in the western Mediterranean in as many months.

The raid focused on the southwestern district of Paphos, where a combined force of 130 officers carried out 17 searches, detained 10 suspects and were searching for five more, police spokesman Christos Andreou told The Associated Press.

Some 160,000 euros ($170,897) were seized from one of the suspects.

Police said the plot had been operating since June 2019. The suspects face charges including conspiracy, participation in a criminal organization and human smuggling.

The new arrests brought the number of people suspected of participating in human trafficking networks to 22.

According to police, 7,914 migrants arrived illegally in Cyprus between the beginning of the year and mid-October, and 8,694 people were deported, left voluntarily or moved to other European Union countries.

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