Two Turkish people-smugglers jailed by Greek court

ATHENS, Sept 29 (AFP) - A Greek court Wednesday jailed for eight years each two Turks found guilty of smuggling seven Africans from Turkey to Greece, the Ana news agency reported.
The men were also fined 45,000 euros (55,500 dollars) each.
The court, on the eastern Aegean island of Samos, heard the men admit they had brought six men and a woman from the west coast of Turkey to the island.
Their passengers were each due to pay them 1,000 dollars for their passage. According to the agency the would-be immigrants had already paid 2,500 dollars to reach Europe.
"The problem of illegal immigration is a major one and we try to monitor the (sea) passages with patrols 24 hours a day," said Diamantis Bonofas, head of the port police at Samos, cited by Ana.
The detention centre at Samos is currently holding 136 illegal immigrants, the agency said. A further 129 had been transferred elsewhere.
The arrival by sea of clandestine immigrants has resumed since the ending of the Olympic Games in Athens in late August, during which exceptional measures had been put in place by the Greek navy, helped by NATO, to ensure security at the event.
Greece's geographical position makes it a major thoroughfare for immigrants from the Middle East and Asia.
According to government figures police arrested 2,439 illegal immigrants last year, most of them en route from Turkey, and detained 74 traffickers in 208 incidents.
In the first six months of this year 1,055 immigrants and 49 people-smugglers were picked up.