Immigrant traffickers arrested

110 illegal immigrants were detained on the eastern Aegean island of Farmakonissi by the coast guard. The coast guard also arrested two alleged smugglers who are wanted on suspicion of involvement in previous smuggling operations.
Dimitris Potamitis and Panayiotis Meraklis, both aged 35, are allegedly responsible for transporting the immigrants on the Corsaro II sailboat that had no flag.
Claiming to be from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, the immigrants included 11 women and 26 children.
Sources reported that in September 2001, Potamitis was arrested, along with four others, for smuggling 86 immigrants to Zakynthos, western Greece.
The 110 immigrants will be put up at a detention center on the neighboring island of Leros.
“The immigrants will be housed temporarily at the center and whoever has a health problem will be examined by doctors,” said a coast guard official “There will be special care, as always, for women and children.”