Six Afghans aged between 15 and 17 were rescued in a half-freezing condition on Monday night in Western Greece. The six were hidden in refrigerator truck loaded with watermelons and were hoping to reach Slovenia. However, at some point the teenagers started to freeze and knock on the walls of the refrigerator. The Serbian driver halted the truck and found the illegal load. He called the police.
The adventurous journey had started 20 days ago in Athens. The six had paid €1,800 each to human smugglers. The minors were initially transferred to Patras, where they were supposed to get on a ferry to Italy. The plan did not work and the traffickers took them to New Manolada in Ileia Prefecture. There the traffickers hid them in the refrigerator truck , in a crypt specially constructed for human trafficking. When the truck loading concluded, the journey was launched.
The truck destination was Slovenia via a ferry from the port of Igoumenitsa to Italy.
The journey did not last long, not longer than 200-250 km. Due to the low temperature in the truck, the Afghans got scared that they would freeze to death, they started to knock on the walls and shout.
The six and the driver were taken to Police in Messolonghi, police investigates the case trying to identify the human traffickers.
The six had left Victoria Square in Athens beginning of June. They had reportedly paid an Iranian and a Turkish national in order to come near their dream.
sources: Athina984FM, Ilialive,gr
