Greek authorities break ring smuggling migrants to Italy

ATHENS, Greece – Greek authorities say they have broken a criminal organization that smuggled migrants from Greece to Italy by yacht, and have arrested eight suspected members.

A coast guard statement says the ring had been about to smuggle 119 people to Italy on the yacht when they were arrested early Thursday in the southern Peloponnese region.

Friday’s statement said the suspects had provided two buses to take the migrants to the western beach of Kourouta. The vehicles were confiscated, together with the yacht and a shotgun.

The migrants’ nationalities were not made public. The smuggling suspects were described as four Greeks and four foreign nationals.

Tens of thousands of migrants live in Greece, prevented by a series of closed borders from continuing their journey to more affluent European countries.