A 41-year-old Turkish human trafficker was sentenced to a total prison term of 120 years (25 years to be served) and a total monetary fine of 590,000 euros – with the appeal having no suspending power – by the 2nd Three-Member Court of Appeals for Felonies of the Dodecanese. Specifically, he had been arrested in September 2024 for transporting 57 foreigners by sailboat to “Ladiko” in Rhodes.
Charges against the Turkish human trafficker
The charges against the 41-year-old included the following:
- Transportation from abroad to Greece of third-country nationals without the right to enter Greek territory by the captain of a vessel, committed serially by a perpetrator acting professionally, for profit, while this act could pose danger to human life.
- Dangerous interference with ship traffic, with other acts dangerous to transportation safety and with danger to human life, following alcohol consumption.
- Illegal entry into the country.
- Violence against officials.
- Disobedience.
- Illegal weapon possession.
The 41-year-old Turkish national was arrested in the early hours of September 30, 2024, following an inspection conducted by a Coast Guard patrol vessel on a sailboat in the “Ladiko” sea area of Rhodes. During the inspection, it was determined that the details displayed on the stern did not match the information shown by the AIS device.
Subsequently, attempts were made to immobilize the vessel using light and sound signals as well as VHF radio, which the sailboat operator did not comply with, while performing dangerous maneuvers. A chase of the sailboat followed, resulting in its immobilization.
The sailboat was transferred to the new Rhodes shipyard and confiscated as a means of trafficking. Meanwhile, officers from the Security Office of the Central Port Authority of Rhodes conducted land searches, where they located a total of 57 foreigners (14 men, 17 women, and 26 minors).
The foreigners identified the 41-year-old Turkish operator of the sailboat as their trafficker, who transported them from Turkey to Greece.
Before the investigator, the 41-year-old claimed, among other things, that he is of Kurdish origin and that he had paid to come to our country, claiming that others were the traffickers and captains of the sailboat, who escaped to the Turkish coast, while they forced him to take over the vessel’s control, even going so far as to beat him.
Source: rodiaki.gr
