More than 200 migrants reached Crete this week, bringing the total from Libya's Tobruk area to nearly 6,000 so far in 2026 — roughly half of all migrant arrivals in Greece — as the Greek government warns of unspecified "drastic" action to stem the crossings from North Africa.
The Coast Guard found 182 men, women and children early Wednesday along a rocky section of coast between the beaches of Katarti and Salamia on southern Crete, most of them nationals of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Egypt. No trace of any vessel was found, leaving it unclear how they reached the shore. A further 38 people arrived separately at Aghia Galini the same day.
Crete has now overtaken the eastern Aegean islands as Greece's primary migration entry point — a shift from the 2015 crisis when up to a million people transited through Lesvos and other islands from Turkey.
Last year, 19,800 people landed on Crete alone, 47 percent of the national total.
By comparison, Lesvos has recorded 919 arrivals since January 1 and Samos 647, according to United Nations data.
Migration Minister Thanos Plevris told parliament last week that at least half of the people reaching Crete in the first five months of this year were from Bangladesh and Egypt.
"There is no war there.
They arrive as economic migrants," Mr. Plevris said, adding that two planned detention camps near Heraklion and Chania will hold new arrivals until their status is determined.
Also Wednesday, police near the Turkish border arrested a suspected smuggler driving a car with ten migrants, heading west toward Thessaloniki.
About 2,600 people have crossed the land border with Turkey in the first five months of 2026.