Athens - The Greek coastguard arrested two suspected migrant smugglers who were onboard a boat with 38 refugees picked up near the island of Mykonos, authorities said on Saturday.
That the boat found on Friday afternoon was so far west indicates that smugglers may be pursuing new routes directly to Italy from Turkey.
Refugee arrivals to the popular tourist island Mykonos have been rare, with most migrants attempting to take the shortest route from the Turkish coast to the Greek islands in the east Aegean Sea.
The Greek officials responsible for migrants reported that with the arrival of 106 people to the islands Lesbos and Chios between Friday and Saturday, the number of migrants in Greece now stands at 58 000.
DPA