Leader of migrant smuggling gang arrested in Greece

The leader of a gang of human traffickers has been arrested in Greece.

The smuggler, a Syrian citizen, is said to have been involved in numerous cases along the Balkan route since the beginning of the migrant crisis in 2015.

The suspect was arrested on June 12 in Athens, in a joint operation of Greek and Hungarian police and Europol. He was arrested along with an accomplice who was involved in making forged documents.

The smuggler allegedly originally operated out of Hungary, where he was involved in transportation of migrants in 2015 and 2016, and was at the time under investigation by a number of EU member states due to several incidents that happened on the route between Hungary and Germany.

The investigation found that he had moved to Greece after the closure of the Balkan route, in order to continue with criminal activities there, which is why a European arrest warrant was issued based on Hungary's request.