Greek police arrest 8 smugglers who brought in 49 migrants

Greek police say they have arrested eight migrant traffickers who smuggled 49 migrants through Greece’s land border with Turkey.

The arrests of the traffickers, six Bulgarians, a Syrian and a Pakistani, were made Saturday in northeastern Greece, most close to the border.

The biggest case involved two Bulgarians who had stashed 17 Syrians in a crypt inside a tourist bus.

In two other cases, police chased down two vehicles to arrest four Bulgarian smugglers. In one, a lone driver carried five Pakistanis, three Syrians and three Somalis in a van. In the other, a Bulgarian driver and two accomplices crashed a bus carrying 10 migrants from Syria, Pakistan and Bangladesh into a railing. No one was hurt.

Such incidents occur almost daily, although police say they increase during weekends. [AP]