Absconding migrant trafficker arrested in Athens

A 37-year-old woman who had absconded from a conviction of 18 years in prison for migrant trafficking was arrested in the western Athens suburb of Petroupoli on Monday, the state-run Athens-Macedonian News Agency reported on Tuesday.

Identified only as a Romanian national, the 37-year-old was found guilty of running a gang that helped migrants without proper travel documents reach Italy by sea from Greece.

The gang reportedly used various cars to pick them up from a rendezvous point in Athens and drive them to a western Greek port where ferries departed for Italy. It then would help them get onto the ferry and another gang member would meet them in Italy, where they would travel to different western European destinations, according to the AMNA, which did not release any additional details.

The 37-year-old has also been slapped with a 50,000 euro fine.