The Hellenic Coast Guard fired several gunshots to halt a high-powered speedboat smuggling migrants from Turkey toward the Greek island of Rhodes in the southeastern Aegean Sea.
According to a Coast Guard statement, the incident occurred late Friday during a months-long investigation involving Greece's EYP intelligence service and the police organized crime unit.
A patrol vessel crew spotted the inflatable high-speed boat north of Rhodes in darkness. The vessel ignored repeated visual and audio signals to stop and performed dangerous maneuvers that endangered both craft and occupants.
Coast Guard personnel first fired warning shots into the air, then targeted gunfire at the speedboat, forcing it to stop.
No injuries were reported among the 38 migrants aboard: 17 men, 6 women, and 15 children.
Two Turkish nationals—a 41-year-old and a 31-year-old—were arrested on suspicion of involvement in an international migrant-smuggling network responsible for transporting the group across from Turkey.
The operation highlights ongoing challenges with high-speed smuggling vessels in the Aegean migration route.
(Handout photo: Hellenic Coast Guard)
Stay updated with the latest news from Greece and around the world on greekcitytimes.com.
Contact our newsroom to share your updates, stories, photos, or videos. Follow GCT on Google News and Apple News.
