Minister says trafficking ring operating on Samos

Migration Policy Minister Dimitris Vitsas said Thursday there is a people trafficking ring operating on the island of Samos.

In an interview with Alpha TV, Vitsas said “there is no doubt that there is a ring of traffickers” on the eastern Aegean island. “The day before yesterday there were 6 Beaufort winds, but 166 people arrived on Samos, while none went to Lesvos and Chios,” he said, adding that the “plan we have in place on Samos is not working.”

Meanwhile, according to data presented by the Migration Ministry Thursday, the number of migrants waiting for asylum applications to be processed at the notorious reception and processing center at Moria on Lesvos has dropped below 6,000.

The drop has been attributed to the transfer of a large number of vulnerable refugees to the mainland in the past month and a drop in arrivals from Turkey.

According to the same data, 1,370 asylum seekers remain on Chios and 4,100 on Samos.