Migrants posing as volleyball players arrested in Greece
September 22, 2019
Greek police arrested 10 migrants posing as volleyball team players at Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos airport for possessing illegal passports on Saturday.
Airport authorities said the migrants entered the country without legal documents, and that the group hoped to get past passport control in disguise.
Read more: Greek police arrest migrants in raids and at airports
The men wore matching outfits and carried similar sports bags and two volleyballs.
Police said they were Syrian nationals, who had wanted to travel to Zurich with Ukrainian passports.
Migrants fleeing conflict-marred countries in the Middle East and North Africa often arrive in Greece, hoping to reach destinations in Central Europe. Many of these migrants also pay money to human traffickers.
According to official data, there are more than 26,600 asylum seekers in overcrowded camps on Lesbos, Chios and Samos, the Greek islands at the forefront of the migrant influx.
Read more: Alleged migrant smugglers arrested on Greek islands
shs/jlw (dpa, AFP)