Five Greek police officers in custody pending trial for assisting illegal migrant crossings

By COSTAS KANTOURIS
Associated Press

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Five police officers accused of cooperating with human traffickers to facilitate the entry of at least 100 migrants into Greece are being held in custody pending trial. Authorities say the officers assisted in at least 12 illegal border crossings, collaborating with four traffickers of undetermined nationality who operated from Turkey. Agents from the internal affairs division of the Greek police had been monitoring the five officers, who serve in a special border guard unit, since October 2022. Almost all the land border between Greece and Turkey is formed by the Evros River, called Meric in Turkey. Greece has built a high fence along much of the border to prevent migrants crossing, and is planning to further extend it.