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Zurich-bound Syrian migrants posing as volleyball team intercepted

The men were carrying forged papers. Keystone / Dimitri Messinis

Dressed in the same sports outfit, ten Syrian migrants trying to fly to Zurich were stopped at Athens airport despite being disguised as a volleyball team.

This content was published on September 22, 2019
SDA-Keystone/ac

Hoping that their disguise would help them cross the border, the ten men, who also carried two volleyballs and the same kit bags, were unmasked during the identity check at Eleftherios Venizelos airport.

They entered Greece illegally and were arrested when it turned out that their papers were forged. According to police sources, they presented Ukrainian passports at immigration control.

According to the latest official figures, more than 26,600 asylum-seekers are currently packed in crowded camps on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos.


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