File photo.
Authorities arrested an alleged human smuggler and located 14 migrants after a high-speed boat chase off the eastern Aegean island of Samos, officials said.
The operation began early Saturday after the Coast Guard was alerted to a suspicious speedboat traveling at high speed toward the island’s northeastern shores, officials said.
A patrol vessel already in the area responded and attempted to stop the boat using lights and audible signals. The operator did not comply, prompting a pursuit at sea.
During the chase, the speedboat ran aground at Cape Prasso, on the island’s northeastern tip, where those on board disembarked and fled into the surrounding area.
A coordinated search by police and coast guard personnel later located 14 migrants on land – three men, eight women and three minors. They were transferred to the closed controlled facility on Samos.
During preliminary questioning, passengers identified a 24-year-old Azerbaijani national as the boat operator and alleged smuggler. He was arrested and faces charges including illegal entry into Greece, migrant smuggling for profit and disobedience to authorities.
Authorities said migrants told investigators they had each paid 5,000 euros to a trafficking network for passage to Greece.
As part of the investigation, officials seized a mobile phone found in the suspect’s possession.