Illegals target Greek port lorries

By Richard Galpin BBC Athens correspondent

The strain on the British lorry driver's face was all too evident as he appeared in court in Greece earlier this month to appeal against an 11-year prison sentence for people smuggling.

David Wilson had been convicted last March after 19 Iraqi illegal immigrants had been found inside his lorry as he waited in the Greek port of Patras to board a ferry to Italy.

He had always protested his innocence, saying the Iraqis had been smuggled into his lorry without him knowing. He said he had been asleep in the cab at the time.

It did not take long for the appeal court to announce it had accepted his defence and that it was quashing the conviction.

While the nightmare for Mr Wilson is now over, it is clear that every lorry driver using Patras port runs the same risk.

Patras lies on a route used by people-smuggling gangs which transport illegal immigrants on journeys which can begin thousands of kilometres away in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq.

Greece with its long coastline and proximity to Turkey is often used as the entry point into Europe.

Easy access

The aim of many of the illegal immigrants is to travel then from Greece into the heart of the European Union.

One of the most obvious ways of doing this is to hitch an illicit ride inside a lorry travelling to Italy from Patras.

It's impossible to seal the lorry completely because they don't just use the back door, they also cut the ropes and elastic holding the top covers down Panayotis Mouratides Greek lorry driver

"There is a very good organised gang with Greeks, Albanians and Kurdish people which organises everything from Athens to Patras to Italy and then to Germany and other countries in the European Union," said Patras-based journalist Georgios Karvouniaris.

Sometimes lorry drivers are themselves involved in the smuggling operation. But frequently they are innocent victims. They are most at risk when they arrive in or near Patras port and take a break from driving in the hours before the ferry leaves.

The smugglers and illegal immigrants have become expert at breaking into the container sections of lorries without the drivers realising.

Greek lorry driver Panayotis Mouratides said: "Several times illegal immigrants have entered my truck.

"Sometimes I manage to get them out, but then when I go off to a restaurant to eat, they try to get back in.

"It's impossible to seal the lorry completely because they don't just use the back door, they also cut the ropes and elastic holding the top covers down."

It is surprisingly easy for illegal immigrants to get inside the ferry terminal at Patras and find lorries to hide in.

Camping out

While we were visiting the port we spotted two men - either Afghans or Iraqi Kurds - jumping out of the back of an empty lorry parked near the perimeter fence.

They had been checking out the lorry while the driver was elsewhere.

Many immigrants hope to get further into Europe from Greece

They had managed to evade the minimal security at the main entrance simply by climbing through a gap in the fence in broad daylight.

Not far from the port, a group of Afghans has set up a makeshift camp sheltering from the rain and wind in huts made of pieces of cardboard and plastic.

Without passports and with very little money, most are clearly hoping to make the illegal crossing to Italy.

Elsewhere in Patras city, Iraqi Kurds and South Asians are also waiting for the right moment to jump on board a lorry.

In total it is estimated there are currently around 1,000 illegal immigrants in the city.

Surveillance

But the Greek authorities insist they now have the situation under control.

"We have special forces and other teams patrolling the port and we've installed surveillance cameras," said Constantinos Soulis, head of the Patras Port Authority. "We also check all the vehicles before they enter the boats.

"It's resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of illegal immigrants being trafficked."

These new measures may have made it harder to reach Italy but experts believe the illegal immigrants just keep trying until eventually they succeed.