- Reuters
- 4 Hours ago
Pakistani suspect in smuggling ring arrested in Italy
- Web Desk
- Oct 22, 2024
BOLOGNA: 13 individuals, including at least one from Pakistan, suspected of involvement in a smuggling ring transporting migrants were arrested in various cities in Italy, Italian police revealed on Monday.
The suspects were arrested by Italian Police for transporting migrants from the middle east and south Asian into Italy and France. The individuals are being accused of criminal association and money laundering
The suspects were arrested in Bologna, Rome, and Milan, and included individuals from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq according to prosecutors in Catanzaro. They were smuggling migrants from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria and Lebanon.
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The criminal organisation allegedly has its roots in Turkey and Iraq according to evidence gathered by investigators.
Prosecutors stated that the “criminal organisation rooted in Turkey and Iraq, with branches in Italy, France and Greece, dedicated to managing the sea transport of irregular migrants.”
Arab News reported that the organisation would house the migrants in the Crotone area in Italy before purchasing bus or train tickets to the Italian border with France. The smugglers would then take them over the border through the Ventimiglia area,
A statement by the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni praised the Italian Finance Police in Crotone, as well as the Central Organised Crime Investigation Service (SCICO) and the District Anti-Mafia Directorate (DDA) of Catanzaro for their “outstanding operation which has led to the dismantling of an international criminal organisation engaged in human trafficking and money laundering.”
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Meloni stated that it is her government’s “priority to combat those who exploit people’s legitimate desire to find better living conditions in order to make huge profits for themselves,” adding that “the Government is determined to take down these criminal networks and to stamp out the illegal trafficking of human beings.”