Brussels, 29/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - Eight people of Iraqi origin have been arrested in Italy and Greece as a people smuggling ring responsible for the illegal entry of more than 1,500 Iraqis and Kurds into the European Union was taken apart, Europol announced on Monday 29 October. In a coordinated operation on Friday, three people were arrested in Italy and five others in Greece in possession of false Italian documents. The illegal migrants, after paying about €8,000 to the ring, were helped to travel through Syria, Iran and into Turkey, from where they crossed into Greece. Their final destinations were Italy, Germany, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, Europol reports. (SP/transl.fl)