UK bases on Cyprus boost fight against migrant traffickers

Authorities at a British military base on Cyprus have hired 50% more customs officers and procured detection equipment to better thwart illegal immigration from the breakaway north of the ethnically split island

PERGAMOS, Cyprus -- Authorities at a British military base on Cyprus have hired 50% more customs officers and procured detection equipment to better thwart illegal immigration from the breakaway north of the ethnically split island. The addition of 24 new officers and four SUVs — two with thermal imaging cameras — allows authorities to patrol around-the-clock along a 45-kilometer (28-mile) boundary, Customs and Immigration Chief Adam Chatfield said. There's a rising trend in migrant arrivals over the last three years. In 2018, authorities located 17 people trying to cross in six instances. That jumped to 33 people in 16 crossing attempts a year later, while 67 people were intercepted in nine attempted crossings last year. Cyprus was cleft along ethnic lines in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup aimed at union with Greece. The breakaway Turkish Cypriot north declared independence nearly a decade later, but only Turkey recognizes it and maintains more than 35,000 troops there.