Italian security forces have arrested twelve people on the island of Sicily for their alleged involvement in irregular migrant smuggling, in a context in which the government of Giorgia Meloni has advocated reviewing the migration policies of the previous administration.
More than a hundred agents took part in this operation, targeting 18 people: eleven Tunisians and seven Italians. Twelve have been taken into custody by the authorities and the remaining six will have to remain under house arrest while investigations continue, according to the police.
The investigations began in February 2019, following the interception of a boat in the area of Gela, and uncovered a network that allegedly favored the irregular entry into Italy of migrants from North Africa.
The migrants paid between 3,000 and 5,000 euros in cash to board precarious boats carrying between ten and 30 people from Tunisia. For each trip, the organization made a profit of between 30,000 and 70,000 euros.
The investigators also believe that those in charge of the network were ready to leave the migrants adrift if, for example, there was a problem with the engine, according to the statement released Thursday by the Italian police.
The Ministry of the Interior estimates that more than 90,000 migrants have arrived this year on the Italian coasts, a figure that it considers unacceptable and that, for the Meloni Executive, justifies the adoption of measures such as the veto of entry to the rescue boats of NGOs.
More than 20,000 people have lost their lives in the waters of the central Mediterranean since 2014, including at least 1,365 this year alone, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
