The coast guard has arrested a 33-year-old Iranian national accused of smuggling a total of 35 migrants to Farmakonisi by speedboat on Saturday and Sunday.
According to reports, on Sunday, after disembarking 16 migrants in a remote and rocky area of the island, the suspect attempted to flee toward the Turkish coast but was intercepted and apprehended by a Coast Guard vessel.
The migrants identified him as the smuggler and the same individual responsible for transporting 19 other migrants to Farmakonisi the previous day.
During Saturday’s incident, in an attempt to evade a coast guard inspection, he allegedly threw three people overboard, resulting in the death of one. He then fled toward the Turkish coast.