Orestiada

The local community in northern Evros in northeastern Greece is opposing the licensing of wind farms in an area favored for ecotourism and environmental education.

Residents argue that the wind farms could disrupt the natural landscape and hinder eco-friendly tourism activities.

A 29-year-old Turkish businessman was arrested in the northeasternmost city of Orestiada after authorities found weapons and ammunition in his car.

Upon entering Greece from Turkey, police discovered a Glock pistol, two magazines, six 9mm rounds and pepper spray in his vehicle.

Corruption cases involving public officials abound and are on the rise. Security officers at Piraeus Port arrested for trafficking in cocaine; border guards in the northeastern city of Orestiada involved in human trafficking; customs officials taking part in a contraband fuel scheme; a prison guard caught trying to smuggle hashish into Korydallos Prison.

Five police officers accused of cooperating with human traffickers to facilitate the entry of at least 100 migrants into Greece are being held in custody pending trial.

The five officers had been testifying before an examining magistrate since Saturday morning at the border town of Orestiada, in northeastern Greece.

Greek authorities on Wednesday rescued a group of 39 migrants who had been abandoned by smugglers on an islet in the river that runs along the country's land border with Turkey, police said.

A police statement said the 13 men, 11 women and 15 children had been ferried across in a plastic boat from the Turkish side of the Evros river.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pledged that a new conservative government will not compromise on matters of national security, while challenging the leader of Greece's leftist opposition, Alexis Tsipras, to clearly state whether he would continue the construction of the fence along the Greek-Turkish border or dismantle it if elected.

Two Greek police officers have been charged with attempted murder after they fired shots, during a high-speed chase, at a car driven by a smuggler that was crammed with 13 migrants — two of whom were slightly injured.

EU border agency Frontex said on Friday it had deployed an additional 100 border guards to Greece's northeastern border to assist in the country's efforts to prevent migrants trapped in the buffer zone from entering its territory.

Guards on Greece's northeastern land border with Turkey made "deterrent use" of tear gas to disperse some 500 refugees and migrants trying to enter the country and the European Union after Ankara loosened controls on migrant flows.

A 42-year-old man was arrested on Greece's northeastern land border with Turkey while trying to smuggle almost a dozen migrants into the country, the Hellenic Police (ELAS) said in an announcement on Friday.