The influx of illegal immigrants landing on Southern Crete, especially in Gavdos, seems endless. This morning, Wednesday, March 13, the Port Authority of Chania was informed by a member of the Gavdos Police about the location of a total of 91 people on the beach of Trypiti.
Twenty-eight of them were transported by a Hellenic Coast Guard vessel to the port of Chora Sfakion and from there, accompanied by personnel from the Port Authority of Chania, to a temporary shelter in Kalathas, Chania.
The remaining 63 remain in temporary accommodation provided by the Municipality of Gavdos and will be transferred to Chania once weather conditions improve.
One of them, aged 23, was arrested by the Central Port Authority of Chania for trafficking.
Approximately 1,500 individuals have arrived from Egypt via Libya in the last three months.
During the previous weekend, 300 illegal immigrants landed on the southern shores of Crete, while in the last three months, it is estimated that 1,500 people have arrived from Egypt via Libya to Gavdos and Crete.
The majority are Egyptian men, with a small percentage claiming to be Pakistani or Bangladeshi nationals.
The illegal arrivals affect the entire southern coast of Crete, from Chania to the beaches of Heraklion. The boats are located in the maritime area from Paleochora to Agia Galini and Matala.
The HS Hydra fired shots against two UAVs in the Gulf of Aden
Greece is faced with two migration routes, the eastern route from Turkey and the central Mediterranean route from Libya. The government is seeking ways to address the issue, as a new migration route has emerged. Discussions are underway for a cooperation agreement with Egypt. Minister of Migration and Asylum, Dimitris Kairidis, raised the issue at the last two EU Ministerial Councils on Migration, to no avail.
The boats depart from Tobruk, Libya, and after two days of travel, they enter Greek territorial waters and send distress signals. The passengers do not wear life jackets and do not have food with them. They pay $5,000 per person for the ticket to Europe. However, the old, wooden fishing boats only reach Crete. This new route of traffickers began operating last October, coinciding with the opening of the front between Hamas and Israel.
In Gavdos and Crete, there are no facilities to accommodate the undocumented arrivals, so they are inevitably directed to makeshift accommodations.
