Greek woman arrested for human trafficking at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport

By Emrah Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) - A Greek national suspected of human trafficking was arrested at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport, Turkish security sources said Thursday.

Paraskevi Georgopoulou was accused of providing a Syrian woman with a fake passport and ticket in an airport restroom, said the sources, who asked not to be named as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The Istanbul police detained Taimaa Chahin, arriving from Beirut, Lebanon, who was planning to transit to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, after she reportedly met Georgopoulou, who came from Greece with a connecting flight to Germany.

After monitoring the two women and detaining them as they exited the restroom together, authorities found Chahin in possession of a fake passport issued under Georgopoulou's name and a ticket to Stuttgart, Germany.

During initial questioning, Chahin reportedly admitted to arranging with the Greek national to obtain the passport and ticket in the restroom to travel to Germany.

Georgopoulou was referred to prosecutors and arrested, while Chahin will be reportedly deported.