Greek authorities say they have freed 34 men, women and children who allegedly had been locked up in a cramped central Athens flat by a mostly Afghan gang of extortionists that preyed on newly arrived immigrants. Greece is the main arrival point for hundreds of thousands of refugees and economic migrants seeking a better life in wealthy European countries. Police said Monday that the suspect offered Afghan migrants accommodation, bus tickets and forged documents. The Czech Republic is sending a unit of 25 soldiers to Hungary to help protect the external border of Europe's passport-free Schengen zone. Joanna Rokicka, spokeswoman for Poland's Border Guards, said Monday that a Border Guard chopper with eight crew members and one liaison officer was sent to Hungary on Sunday. Separate talks on more aid to help protect Hungarian border are being held ahead of Oct. 8 meeting of interior ministers from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said Monday that the EU wants to "have a contract of mutual confidence that is necessary, given the central role Turkey has played in the refugee crisis." A spokeswoman for the EU's border agency says it is seeking hundreds of additional border guards to help in the task of identifying migrants that are arriving in Europe. The agents would reinforce the procedure of identifying people who qualify for political asylum, like Syrians and Afghanis, and economic migrants, who will be returned home. The head of the U.N. refugee agency says a "positive relationship between the Western and the Muslim worlds" is essential to overcome refugee crises like those facing Europe.
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