A total of 16 officers from the Portuguese GNR Coastal Control Unit have taken up their positions on the Greek island of Kos within the scope of the Frontex “Poseidon 2016” mission with the officers set to remain part of this mission until the end of September.
Led by Captain Ana Lopes the officers will be working to prevent and detect illicit acts interrelated with illegal immigration and the trafficking of both human beings and drugs.
The Kos operation is the first of ten international missions the GNR are scheduled to take part in this year under the auspices of Frontex, with half in Greece, three in Bulgaria and one apiece in Spain and Poland, with a total of 72 officers involved.
In 2015, 28 GNR officers took part in Frontex missions, registering 5,630 migrants and rescuing 1,205 people stranded
at sea.
The Coastal Control Unit is a specialist GNR unit trained to monitor, patrol and intercept whenever necessary and operating the Portuguese coastal surveillance system.
The Portuguese Maritime Police, another national unit contributing towards the European Union border patrol operations in Greece, have also announced that the last six months of the mission has seen the sea rescue of 2,865 refugees/migrants, with around half of this number being women and children.
The Maritime Police undertook 69 search and rescue missions between 1 October 2015 and the end of March this year that also saw the arrest of five people on human trafficking charges. TPN/Lusa