Police arrested four Syrian men during a large-scale operation to dismantle a migrant trafficking network in the early hours of Wednesday across Cyprus.
According to information obtained by the Financial Mirror, four people of Syrian origin have been arrested, and at least four others are being sought. The men were arrested in Limassol.
The operation was carried out following information received by Lebanese authorities as part of an agreement between Cyprus and Lebanon, signed during Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou’s recent visit to Beirut.
Ioannou signed an MOU on handling the increased flows of migrants from the neighbouring country via sea.
The four Syrian suspects arrested are believed to be part of an organized network with contacts both in Syria and Lebanon.
Interior Ministry data revealed human smugglers have adapted their tactics in response to political, diplomatic, and operational actions.
The majority of irregular migrants arrive in small boats on the coast under the Republic’s control.
Due to the European embargo on contacts with the Assad government in Syria, the Republic of Cyprus is focusing its efforts on Lebanon, where it seems that migrant smuggling rings operate.
People smuggled to Cyprus are mainly Syrian nationals, who are transported by small fishing boats or inflatable dinghies, risking their lives.
After recent contacts made by Interior Minister Ioannou with the government of Lebanon, Cyprus achieved a deal for closer cooperation in returning migrants setting off from the neighbouring country.
However, the latest challenge appears to be dealing with human smuggling rings.
On the initiative of the Minister of the Interior, a special unit has been established by the Asylum Service, the Migration Department, and the Labour Ministry.
One of the unit’s objectives is properly managing Syrian migrants already in Cyprus and preventing further flows from Syria.
At the operational level, measures are taken to identify human smugglers and exchange information with European agencies such as EUROPOL.
The government has decided that international protection applicants who arrived in the Republic after January 1 are not eligible candidates for the voluntary relocation program.
This is to deter those who take advantage of the program and use Cyprus as a transit station to other EU countries.
European Union member Cyprus argues it is a ‘frontline country’ on the Mediterranean migrant route, with asylum-seekers comprising an EU high of 5% of the island’s 915,000 population in the Republic – a record figure across the bloc.
Authorities say there has been a rise in migrants arriving by boat, with a 60% increase recorded in the first seven months of the year, compared to the same period last year.
According to the Aliens and Immigration Unit, most irregular migrants arriving by sea come on boats from Tartus, Syria and are usually located off Cape Greco.
Asylum applications between May and July were down 53% from last year, decreasing to 4,976 claims, while Nicosia has ramped up migrant returns.
Returns of failed asylum seekers this year exceeded 4,370, significantly higher than in 2022, when they were 2,353.
