On 8 October, Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos said there has been a significant increase of arrivals of migrants in Crete, departing from eastern Libya. He said the modus operandi is either requesting assistance from a nearby merchant vessel or the Greek Coast Guard upon nearing Crete or clandestinely off-loading the migrants on the southern coast of Crete. He said that over 300 migrants have reached Crete and Gavdos, the southernmost Greek island, during the last three days. Greece is currently hosting about 22,000 illegal migrants in temporary shelters across the country.
On the same day, another vessel loaded with 55 people was located south of Gavdos. A Liberian-flagged freighter offering picked them up and transported the group to Crete. According to local media reports, the irregular migrant flows arriving in Crete consist mainly of young men from Syria, Egypt and Pakistan.
On 10 October, 75 migrants were rescued south of Crete. They sent a distress call and were subsequently picked up by a merchant ship. The vessel was escorted to a harbour in southern Crete, where the migrants disembarked. Two Egyptians suspected of belonging to a human trafficker gang were arrested.
On 11 October, 34 migrants (28 from Syria, 3 from Sudan, 3 from Egypt) were rescued in the same area. On the same day, the Greek Coast Guard said that 38 migrants who departed from Benghazi were found in southern mainland Greece. It was not immediately clear whether that was a new variation in the route from Libya or a navigational error.