Italy arrests smugglers of migrants from Türkiye, Greece

Italy arrests smugglers of migrants from Türkiye, Greece

People arrested suspected of being part of international criminal groups with cells in several countries

By Giovanni Legorano

ROME (AA) - Italy’s police arrested on Wednesday 29 people accused of smuggling migrants from Türkiye and Greece in an operation dismantling an international criminal group, authorities said.

The authorities suspect the people arrested were part of a criminal gang with members in the three countries ferrying migrants across the eastern Mediterranean to southern Italy, normally on sailboats. The people are also accused of laundering the illegal proceeds from the migrants’ trafficking activity.

The arrests come after a four-year-long investigation by the Italian national police, coordinated by the anti-mafia prosecutor’s office of Catanzaro, said Francesco Messina, anti-crime director of Italy’s state police, in a statement.

Italy has seen a massive rise in the arrivals of seaborne migrants from the beginning of the year although the majority of them come from northern African shores.

The migrants were charged around €10,000 per trip, the police said. After their arrival in Italy, the smugglers were also organizing the transfer of the migrants from southern Italy to northern Italian cities such as Milan, Turin, or Trieste and providing them with food and shelter during these journeys.

Italian authorities said the operation also involved authorities from Türkiye, Greece, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, the UK, and Morocco, as well as Europol and Interpol.

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