AFP — Greek police freed 34 migrants including men, women and children, who were being kept captive in a flat in Athens, Greece, by an Afghan gang. The gang members were described as extortionists who were “preying” on other Afghan migrants who had just arrived in the country, according to Associated Press.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have arrived in Greece over the last year, due to the conflicts in the Middle East, seeking passage to northern European countries, in the hopes that they’ll be able to have a better life. Several smugglers are operating in the Turkish coast, requesting thousands of euros in order to help the desperate migrants and refugees cross the Greek border in the Aegean Sea islands, before heading north.
Greek police stated that one of the suspects was apprehended during the weekend in a special operation, while authorities are still trying to locate another five of his alleged accomplices. Gang members would offer Afghan migrants a place to stay and promised to buy them bus tickets,but instead they kept them locked in the apartment and would beat them forcing them to give all the money they had to the gang.
