Dozens of illegal migrants on way to Italy arrested in Greece

Police in the western Greek port city of Patras have arrested 74 migrants who had hidden in a tanker and a truck's cargo area in hopes of making it onto a ferry headed for Italy, officials said Wednesday.
Greece has become a gateway for European Union asylum seekers ever since the migrants' traditional Mediterranean sea routes have come under more stringent control.The EU has sent border patrols and extra funds to Greece to help it deal
with the tide of migrants coming over its border with Turkey.The migrants arrested in Patras reportedly stemmed from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.Thirty men, two women and 22 minors had hidden in the tanker's empty cistern, running the risk of suffocating or dying from poisoning. Another 16 men and four minors had hidden in empty packing boxes aboard the truck.The drivers of the two vehicles were also detained. Police are investigating whether they are linked to international gangs that smuggle people along a route featuring stops in Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Greece and Italy.








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