Interpol Arrests 262 in Mediterranean Migrant Smuggling Crackdown

An international police operation coordinated from Athens has led to 262 arrests and exposed 41 criminal networks smuggling migrants across the Mediterranean, Interpol has announced.

Operation Communis Maris ran from 5 to 8 October 2026 and involved 16 countries across southern Europe, North and West Africa and the Middle East, including Greece, Cyprus and Türkiye.

Coordinated from Athens

Interpol officials were deployed to an Operational Coordination Unit in Athens, where they shared intelligence with national authorities in real time throughout the four-day operation.

In Greece, authorities arrested a suspect at an airport who allegedly tried to travel on forged documents, and carried out vehicle inspections. Cyprus also made an airport arrest over forged travel documents and targeted networks suspected of smuggling migrants.

Turkish officials carried out screening checks as part of the operation.

Key results

• 262 suspects arrested: 221 for migrant smuggling, 16 for human trafficking and 25 for other offences, including fraudulent documents
• 41 organised criminal groups identified
• 434 new investigations opened
• 1,715 irregular migrants detected
• 109 potential victims of human trafficking identified
• More than 378,000 people checked by 7,660 officers

Investigators also uncovered dozens of social media posts, groups and accounts advertising people-smuggling services. Interpol said these leads, along with the new investigations, are expected to result in further arrests in the coming months.

Arrests across the region

In Libya, authorities rescued 34 potential trafficking victims and arrested three people linked to a group involved in trafficking, smuggling and extortion.

In Syria, a raid on a smuggling base led to seven arrests, including the alleged ringleader, and the interception of 22 migrants.

Moroccan authorities stopped a boat carrying 70 people, including 30 minors, after six days at sea. In Mauritania, a wooden pirogue carrying 80 passengers was intercepted after a tip-off from Senegal, and three suspected organisers were arrested.

Arrests and seizures of boats, engines and fuel were also made in Tunisia, Algeria and Senegal, while in France six people were arrested for offences including money laundering and facilitating irregular migration.

“One of the world’s deadliest migration corridors”

“The Mediterranean Sea is one of the world’s deadliest migration corridors, claiming thousands of lives annually,” said David Caunter, Interpol’s Director of Organized and Emerging Crime.

The operation was supported by Europol, Frontex, AFRIPOL, the International Organization for Migration and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and funded by the European Union.

The participating countries were Algeria, Cyprus, France, the Gambia, Greece, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, Senegal, Spain, Syria, Tunisia and Türkiye.

Source: Interpol

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