In port where trade is so prevalent gangs block-book hotels for refugees and boats leave nightly, they say bad weather will limit sea crossings Turkey-based smugglers helping to facilitate Europe’s biggest mass migration since the second world war fear that stormier conditions in the eastern Mediterranean will force them to suspend the majority of their operations in the coming weeks, raising the possibility of a significant drop in the flow of refugees to Europe during the winter. As European leaders gathering hundreds of miles away in Brussels called for fiercer protection of the Greek coastline, smugglers in Turkey said it was not the threat of European navies that concerned them – but the weather. Related: EU refugee summit in disarray as Tusk warns 'greatest tide yet to come' Related: Libya's people smugglers: inside the trade that sells refugees hopes of a better life Related: Trading in souls: inside the world of the people smugglers Continue reading...
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