Ten Egyptian citizens were arrested on suspicion of being part of an international organization dedicated to the trafficking of migrants, in particular from Libya to Italy and other countries.. The arrests issued by the DDA of Milan and carried out by the State Police suggest the crimes of criminal association, aiding and abetting illegal immigration and abusive practice of credit activity. There are at least 8 sea crossings traced back to the suspects, one landing in Lampedusa, one in Civitavecchia and 5 on the Greek coast; a further journey ended with a rescue activity.
The investigations by the Milan Flying Squad and the SCO, in collaboration with Europol, were started in July 2023, and would have highlighted the presence of a Milanese group included in a larger international criminal network, with ramifications in Egypt, Libya and other European countries, which would operate on two fronts: aiding and abetting the illegal immigration of Egyptian citizens and the abusive exercise of payment service provision activities.
“The migrants – we read in a note from the Milan Police Headquarters – after having agreed to depart from Egypt, paid the amounts imposed on the facilitators present in Milan;
they were subsequently moved to Libya across the Egyptian border by other co-workers present abroad; having arrived in Libyan territory, the migrants were collected by Libyan facilitators and placed in ‘safe houses’ located in various locations waiting to leave. During this wait, which often lasted several months, sometimes even in degrading conditions, some migrants were also forced into sudden transfers, to escape the growing controls of the Libyan authorities, aimed at combating illegal departures from that territory. After reaching Europe, in particular Greece or Italy, on boats that were not always able to withstand the crossing, the suspects sometimes worked to ensure that irregular migrants obtained residence permits or to guarantee the transfer from Milan to other cities”.
According to what emerges from the investigation into the Egyptian smugglers stopped in Milan by the police on orders of the DDA, the traffic of every single migrant heading towards Italy would have brought the organization an income ranging between 4,000 and 6,000 euros, mostly paid by relatives or friends. The route through Greece would have instead entailed a payment of between 3000 and 5000 euros.
“For the payment of the agreed sum, the consolidated fiduciary method known as “hawala” was once again used – states the Milan Police Headquarters in a note – thanks to the presence, again in the Milan area, of a family unit specialized in the aforementioned transfer of money. An informal money transfer system, based on trust, in which private individuals make agreements with other private individuals and in which the transaction surcharge is generally higher than that charged by the companies that legally engage in such money transfer activities. cash”.
The operation involved not only the Milan area, but also other Italian provinces (Florence, Asti, La Spezia and Pavia) where some of the suspects who were the recipients of the detention order were traced.
