In the early morning hours of Wednesday (August 6), a Hellenic Coast Guard patrol vessel (PPLS) on a scheduled patrol spotted a speedboat without navigation lights moving at high speed toward the southern coast of Lesvos.

The PPLS crew attempted to stop the speedboat using visual and audible signals, but without success. A chase ensued, during which the operator of the vessel performed dangerous maneuvers before grounding it on the shore in the area of “Plomari” in Lesvos, where he disembarked a large number of migrants.

Officers of the Hellenic Police located 26 individuals in the wider land area of Plomari, who were transferred to the Kara Tepe “Mavrovouni” Reception and Identification Center.

In the afternoon of the same day, following the use of gathered intelligence, a 22-year-old Turkish man was found at the Mytilene passenger port, preparing to board a passenger–vehicle ferry bound for the ports of Chios and Piraeus.

The 22-year-old had disembarked the 26 migrants and was arrested as their smuggler. The Mytilene Central Port Authority, which is conducting the preliminary investigation, seized the speedboat and a mobile phone.