Police have arrested a foreign national in connection with the arrival of 15 irregular migrants in Kato Pyrgos in the early hours of Saturday.

Authorities said it appeared the 12 men and three women were dropped off in a deserted area near the village of Limnitis in the north, which is next to Kato Pyrgos.

The group was spotted wandering around Pyrgos at 4am. They were taken to the local police station pending their transfer to Pournara reception centre outside Nicosia.

Head of the community Nicos Kleanthous said two other individuals got away in a vehicle driven by a foreign permanent resident.

Police tracked down and arrested the man and were trying to determine whether he was involved in the arrival.

Cyprus is seeing an almost constant flow of migrants who arrive by boat, as it struggles to deal with the ones already on the island.

A total of 7,036 new asylum applications were submitted in 2020, raising the year’s backlog to nearly 20,000, according by UNHCR official figures.