Police in Frosinone (southern Italy), in collaboration with police departments in northern and central Italy, arrested 10 foreign nationals, most of whom of Kurdish-Iraqi origins, on Tuesday, February 25.

Those arrested are accused of setting up a criminal organization that aided and abetted clandestine migration, including through procurement and counterfeiting of documents. The warrants had been issued by the Rome anti-mafia unit.

The investigation found that the organization acted transnationally and had been set up to facilitate the illegal entrance into Italy in exchange for large amounts of money.

Probe after counterfeit money seized in 2017

The inquiry began after €50,000 in counterfeit bills were seized in 2017 in the town of Frosinone.

It was discovered that undocumented migrants were provided with counterfeit documents and lodgings to reach Europe from the Middle East. They received false ID documents in exchange for €2,500 and entered Schengen territory through Greece as well as the border ports of Bari. Rome, Venice and Pisa.

After stays in homes in Rome, the foreign nationals continued onward to countries in northern Europe.

Preliminary investigative judge Zsuzsa Mendola wrote that the evidence was solid and that it proves the operating methods used by criminal organization: "The undocumented foreigners got on planes in Greece to Italy using fake IDs. Once they arrived in Italy, they made contact with the organization, using the contact details provided in Greece, to plan their successive transfer to other states."

Syrian-Kurdish minors

Wiretaps showed that the group made use of the hawala system, widely used by nationals of Arab countries, to send money.

The group reportedly managed to bring even minors to Europe, mostly Syrian-Kurdish nationals.

The leaders of the organization were Iraqi as well as Egyptian nationals, aged between 34 and 68, have been charged with "having promoted, set up, and organized a criminal association aiming to aid and abet clandestine migration, in which they took part" alongside others who "were not able to be identified".