A human smuggler in Athens has been recorded on camera saying he “moves ISIS members from Greece to the rest of Europe.”
According to the CBS report, which has aired on American television, “human smuggling is big business in Athens,” with CBS News claiming they have found evidence that ISIS members are being moved through Greece to the rest of Europe.
“In central Athens, an area around Omonia Square is notorious as a center of criminal activity where human smuggling gangs operate,” says CBS’ reporter Holly Williams, who along with her crew filmed with a hidden camera, during a set up meeting with Alrayes, a human trafficker who comes from North Africa and runs a smuggling syndicate, “moving people from Athens to western Europe for around $8,000 each.”
During filming, Alrayes is heard saying, "From Athens, you go [to] Italy, you arrive there in Italy. I have people will help you with everything. It’s very easy.”
Williams posed as an ISIS wife, who wanted safe passage to Germany. "No problem," Alrayes said, adding that he had, in fact, moved other ISIS members before.
“He even bragged that he'd smuggled three brothers of notorious al Qaeda terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a claim CBS News cannot confirm,” said Williams.
CBS News also went undercover a second time, this time posing as smugglers, and found criminals with hundreds of them for sale in Athens, including U.S. passports.
“They try to match their customers with an ID photo they resemble. Then the smugglers use the stolen documents to fly people from Athens to Spain or Italy, where they claim security is lax. From there, they can travel anywhere in western Europe with no border checks,” reports Williams.
*You can watch the video here.
*Source: CBS News