A total of 243 illegal migrants were found in several consecutive operations in the area of the island of Crete within one day, the electronic edition of the Greek newspaper “Proto Thema“ reports, BTA reports.
The operations are coordinated by the Single Center for the Coordination of Search and Rescue Operations in the area southwest of the city of Ierapetra.
In the first operation, a drone of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency “Frontex“ detected a boat with 61 migrants on board. They were transported by a Greek coast guard ship to the port of Ierapetra.
Later, a second boat with 52 people was found. The migrants were loaded onto a Maltese-flagged tanker in the area and transported to Crete.
In parallel, another 45 migrants were found in another operation.
In the fourth case, a “Frontex“ drone detected two boats with a total of 85 people. They were picked up by a coast guard boat and taken to the port of Kali Limenes in the southern part of the island.
Despite the cases registered in the last 24 hours, the Greek authorities report a decrease in migratory pressure. According to data from the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, the number of migrants arriving in the country has decreased by around 35% in the last 12 months.
Between August 1, 2024 and August 1, 2025, 61,112 migrant arrivals were registered in Greece. For the next 12-month period - from August 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026 - the number has dropped to 41,998.
This means nearly 20,000 fewer arrivals and a decline of approximately 35%.