Greek coast guards nab suspected migrant smuggler in Aegean

ATHENS, Greece – Greek authorities have arrested a suspected migrant smuggler after a speedboat chase off the Aegean Sea island of Kos, in which coast guards fired warning shots and the suspect rammed a patrol boat.

A coast guard statement says the 37-year-old was slightly injured in Thursday’s collision and briefly hospitalized, but was not hit by bullets. Officials haven’t released a name, but say the suspect is a foreign national.

The statement says the suspect landed seven migrants on a Kos beach and was stopped while trying to escape in his speedboat to the nearby Turkish coast.

Greece is a major entry point for migrants crossing from Turkey in hope of a better life in Europe.