Since the government has tightened up on the flow of migrants to the Aegean islands from Turkey, the traffickers are known to have more or less abandoned the practice of setting their clients loose in leaky inflatables. These were prone to sinking even before their interception by the Greek authorities, and also to being pushed back towards the Turkish coast, according to the accusations of humanitarian NGOs. The result has been a rise in larger boats with increased numbers of migrants attempting to directly reach Italy – such as those which landed in Palaiochora in November. The latest incidents to be reported show another change of tactics, the traffickers using speed and the cover of darkness in the hope of passing unnoticed:

Some 40 migrants were landed on the shores of Kos on the evening of Tuesday 3rd January. They arrived in two speedboats which were immobilised after a pursuit by the Coastguard, while four people suspected of being traffickers were arrested.

In the first incident, a Coastguard patrol boat identified a GRP-hulled (fibreglass) speedboat travelling at high speed without navigation lights, which landed some 20 foreigners at Therma beach on Kos. After landing the migrants the speedboat tried to escape towards the Turkish coast, ignoring the Coastguard vessel’s visual and audible warnings to stop, and in the ensuing pursuit the boat’s operator made repeated attempts to ram the Coastguard vessel. Finally, the Coastguard crew fired warning shots at a safe place on the speedboat and, when that had no effect, at the speedboat’s outboard motors, bringing it to a standstill. The two men on on board, presumed to be the migrants’ traffickers, were arrested.

In the second case, a high-powered RIB (rigid inflatable) was identified by another Coastguard patrol, also travelling at high speed and without navigation lights towards the coast at Profitis Zacharias on the other side of the island. After landing its passengers, the boat set off at high speed towards the Turkish coast, pursued by the Coastguard vessel and ignoring its orders to stop. As in the first case, the operator repeatedly tried to ram the Coastguard vessel. Warning shots were fired at a safe portion of the boat, and then at the outboard motors, bringing it to a standstill. As the Coastguard approached, the two men on board the speedboat jumped into the water, but were fished out by the Coastguard crew and arrested on suspicion of trafficking,

Following the two incidents, the Security Services located and arrested six of the foreigners on dry land, while a further 37 were found on a KTEL bus. The boats were confiscated by the Kos Port Authority, which is conducting the preliminary investigation. (Haniotika Nea, 5th January, and Ertnews.gr)

The incidents give rise to a number of suppositions. The landings seem to have been coordinated, as the migrants apparently ended up together on a bus. The two boats are expensive pieces of machinery and one might guess that the migrants were able to pay an elevated price for the quick journey. They must also have come equipped with euros for the bus fare, but apparently not with enough sense to disperse after landing. One might guess that on seeing nearly 40 foreigners crowd onto his bus after dark, the driver would have immediately summoned the police.