Greek police free 23 captive migrants

Greek police say they have freed 23 migrants held captive by smugglers until their relatives paid a fee for smuggling the men into Greece from neighboring Turkey.

Police said Thursday that the 21 Pakistani and two Bangladeshi men were in good health despite being imprisoned for a week in a Roma camp near the northern city of Thessaloniki.

One of their alleged captors, a 26-year-old Greek, was arrested.

Police said the migrants had all paid deposits on agreed fees of between 1,500-3,500 euros ($1,610 to $3,750) each to be smuggled into Greece across the Evros river, which runs along the country’s land border with Turkey.

They were being held until the outstanding sums were paid. The raid followed a complaint by two of the men’s relatives. [AP]