People smuggling ring dismantled: Four arrests made

Authorities have ‘dismantled’ a people smuggling ring, making four arrests in the process, it was reported on Monday.

The Cyprus News Agency (CNA) said the operation was carried out based on information gathered by the Information Sharing Team – consisting of interior ministry officials and police. Established on the orders of Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou, the team is part of wider efforts to deter migratory flows by sea.

The four persons arrested were all Syrian nationals and appear to have operated as middlemen or collaborators for a migrant smuggling ring in Cyprus and elsewhere.

Citing its sources, CNA said it appears the ring operated primarily in the sea area in Famagusta, including around Cape Greco. They would mostly traffic Syrians.

Contacted by CNA, the interior minister confirmed the event. He said that police are currently questioning the four persons under arrest who appear to have been part of a broader ring operating in the eastern Mediterranean.

Ioannou said that cracking down on migrant smuggling rings is one of the government’s chief policies in tackling irregular migration.

Smugglers, he said, “take advantage of people’s suffering, luring migrants to dangerous voyages in craft that are not fit for purpose, putting their lives at risk.”

Recently the police claimed to have busted another trafficking ring after arresting six individuals. The operation took place in late August. Six more suspects are wanted in connection with that case.

According to CNA, that ring seems to have had a broader scope, operating in the eastern Mediterranean and via Turkey.

So far this year, and according to government data, applications by asylum seekers have declined sharply compared to last year. From March to August applications came to 5,866 – compared to 11,961 for the same period of 2022.

At the same time, returns of non-EU nationals to their countries have shown a marked increase.