Hundreds of migrants were found aboard a luxury yacht after paying up to $2,500 each for the voyage to Europe, NBC News reported.
The 100-foot vessel — which had a regular capacity of about 65 people — was carrying 345 Syrian nationals when it was intercepted just off Tsonia beach on the Greek island of Lesbos on Monday, officials said.
Sources familiar with the investigation said that the refugees on board paid up to $2,500 to make the crossing from Turkey. At that price, the journey could have earned traffickers as much as $862,000.
More than 1,100 refugees were rescued off the coast of Lesbos, Kos and surrounding islands this weekend during 28 separate incidents of search and rescue.
Nearly 220,000 people reached Europe by sea in October, almost equal to the total number of migrants who arrived during 2014, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).
