Four heavily intoxicated men tried to pass the Greek – Turkish border overnight and enter Greek territory.
Three out of them were arrested on the Turkish side of the border, when a Turkish army patrol fired blanks to stop them, but the fourth one managed to cross the border and was detained by Greek forces. He is identified as a Turkish national of Kurdish background, aged 40.
According to reports, he remains in detention and will be released when he regains sobriety.
The incident took place weeks after two Greek soldiers were arrested in Turkey after mistakenly crossing the borders; they remain jailed, awaiting for charges to be pressed against them.
Such minor border have been common in the area for decades, with perpetrators being averted by the respective patrol forces and let go with a warning.
However, this was the first time that Turkey decided to treat the violation as proof of espionage, which has seen Turkish – Greek relationships undergo more stress than usual.