Filenews 24 August 2023
A large-scale operation to dismantle a migrant smuggling network was carried out in the morning hours by the Police in various locations in the free Cyprus. Four people of Arab origin have been arrested and at least four others are being sought.
According to secure information, the operation was carried out on the basis of data transmitted by the Information Exchange Group between Lebanon and Cyprus, which was set up after the recent trip of the Minister of Interior, Constantinos Ioannou, to Beirut, to deal with the increased migratory flows by sea.
The information was evaluated by the Aliens and Migration Service, which, in cooperation with officers of the Police Unit of Armed Forces, ICF and YKAN and other police departments, carried out a special operation to identify and simultaneously arrest individuals allegedly acting as intermediaries or collaborators in a migrant smuggling network in Cyprus and other countries.
According to the same information, those arrested are of Arab origin, most of them from Syria, and have been in Cyprus in recent years. These individuals appear to maintain contact with their compatriots in both Syria and Lebanon.
Since last June, there have been changes in the modus operandi of smugglers, to tackle which actions are taken at political, diplomatic, technocratic and operational levels. Due to the European embargo on contacts with the Assad government in Syria, the Republic of Cyprus focuses its efforts on Lebanon, where migrant smugglers, mainly Syrian nationals, appear to be operating and transporting them by fishing boats, endangering their lives.
Following Constantine Ioannou's recent contacts with the Lebanese government, it became possible to return several migrants from the neighbouring country. However, it is a question of tackling the smuggling rings.
At the initiative of the Minister of Interior, a special team of officials has been set up from the Asylum Service, the Civil Registry and Migration Department, the Aliens and Migration Service, as well as the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance. The terms of reference of the group are to examine the possibility of revising the policy concerning Syrian nationals, with the aim of properly managing those already in the Republic of Cyprus, and preventing further flows from Syria.
At an operational level, measures are being taken to identify the smugglers of these migrants, while actions are also being taken to exchange information between the co-competent European services and European organizations, such as EUROPOL. Applicants for international protection who have arrived in the Republic of Cyprus after 1/1/2023 will not be included in the lists of eligible candidates for the voluntary relocation scheme. The aim of this policy is that the relocation scheme does not become a pull factor for nationals of specific third countries, who may take advantage of the scheme and use Cyprus as a transit point to other European countries.
Despite the increases in sea flows, asylum applications in Cyprus remain much lower than last year, as a result of recent actions. The measures have helped reduce asylum applications from migrants from sub-Saharan African countries who came to the occupied territories via Turkey, ostensibly with student status.
KYPE
