20/01/2010 (Agence Europe) - In the course of 2009, Greek coastguards arrested 10,165 illegal migrants in the east Aegean Sea, Greek authorities announced on Tuesday 19 January. The port police counted 595 incidents concerning illegal arrivals during this period. It has arrested 186 people smugglers, a majority of whom are of Turkish nationality, and seized 159 vessels, the national agency ANA reports. The islands of Samos and Lesbos, which are close to the Turkish coast, have been the most affected, with 3,854 and 3,361 illegal migrants arrested respectively. Coastguards have also arrested 2,593 illegal migrants seeking to reach Italy by the ports of Patras and Igumenitsa, in the Ionian Sea (west). UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, who was on visit in Greece on Tuesday, called on the European Union to “understand the efforts being made by Greece, which is suffering considerable migratory pressure (…) and to show solidarity for the good of Europe as a whole”. (B.C./transl.jl)