16-year-old dies from heroin overdose in Greek migrant camp

A 16-year-old migrant who had illegally entered Greece with his family died of a heroin overdose, Sto Nisi reported.

He was found dead on Friday by his parents in the tent where they all lived together in the Moria migrant camp on the island of Lesvos.

The body of the Afghan teenager was transported for a forensic examination at Mytilene Hospital.

Afghanistan is the heroin capital of the world, where it is not only the leading producer of the poppy plant needed to make the addictive drug, but 12.6% of the adult population in Afghanistan in 2015 were addicted to heroin.

The death of the child comes as during a formal inspection of the infamous Moria migrant camp, one of the illegal immigrants staying at the camp was arrested by police as he was found with a knife and selling heroin, as reported by Greek City Times yesterday.

During the search that took place at the Moria migrant camp, he was found to be in possession of a three-gram package of heroin, an electronic scale and a nine centimetre knife. They were immediately confiscated.

A case was filed against the illegal immigrant for drug possession and trafficking, and violation of the law on weapons and was referred to the Mytilene Prosecutor’s Office.

There have been many other shocking events that have occurred in Lesvos this year, including two gangs of Afghani immigrants battling each other, African immigrants ridiculing and coughing on police in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, and thousands of olives trees being destroyed.

However, the death of a teenager to heroin, a drug that virtually did not exist on Lesvos before the migrant crisis began in 2015, shows just how rampant the addictive substance has become on the island, and calls to question how many addicts are living in the migrant camp.