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Up to 3,500 euro per person was the amount of the additional monthly "salary" that four policemen from Evros received  for the "services" they rendered to one of the major channels for the transfer of illegal immigrants that was broken up by the Greek police.

As established, the role of the policemen was crucial because they were helping the criminal group by securing the safe entry of foreigners near the border village of Kipi in Evros, allowing them to cross the border against a significant remuneration, namely from 100 euro to 500 euro per person, depending on the level of difficulty.

The contact between the criminal group and the four policemen was established by a 58-year-old Georgian who was responsible for the transportation. He also paid the relevant amounts to the policemen whenever they allowed foreign nationals to illegally enter Greece.

The large criminal group was broken up following an investigation by the units at the police directorate in Thessaloniki and in Attica to combat organized crime and human trafficking, in cooperation with the internal investigations unit of the Greek police.

The criminal group transferred to Greece as well as to other European Union countries foreign citizens, mainly from Georgia, and supplied them with false residence documents. The sums paid by the foreigners for these "services" amounted to 2,000 euro per person.

In connection with this case, large-scale police operations that were simultaneously carried out in Attica, Thessaloniki and Evros on Thursday apprehended a total of 22 people, including the head of the criminal group and the four policemen.

The legal proceedings initiated against the detainees are on charges of organizing, participating in, or leading a criminal group, facilitating the illegal entry and exit from the country, illegal transfer of citizens from third countries, legalization of proceeds from criminal activities, falsification of documents, corruption, bribery of a public official, breach of professional duties.

Another 21 people are charged with the same crimes (as appropriate) and another 28 (14 Georgians and 14 Greeks) are accused of involvement in a criminal group.

The criminal group has been consistently involved in the illegal traffic over the past six years.

It is already clear, for example, that, from January to this day, the criminal group was involved in 24 cases of trafficking of a large number of illegal immigrants to Greece. Sometimes they were transferred on foot and sometimes by coaches from the border with Turkey in Evros as well as by sea, on board motor boats, from Marmarida Province, Turkey, to the Greek island of Rhodes.

Furthermore, the criminal group was involved in 15 previous cases of trafficking of illegal immigrants, and in many cases of transferring immigrants through Athens international airport and the port of Igoumenitsa.

The profits of the criminal group were huge, as, in addition to the illegal trafficking, its members were also involved in the making of false documents and the issue of genuine documents for which they used fake certificates.

The authorities registered a total of 216 cases of preparation and submission of false documents, the relevant amount exceeding 38,470 euro. In addition, they detected another 110 cases in which the documents had not been submitted and the amount for them exceeds 46,230 euro.

For the making of documents, the members of the criminal group collected from the interested people sums on the basis of an unofficial "price list".

During the police operation to break up the criminal group, the authorities seized a bus the luggage compartment of which had a special niche for the transfer of illegal immigrants.