After a joint operation by Italian police and coast guard officials, six members of the crew of the Tunisian fishing boat 'Zohar' were arrested and detained. They have been charged with stealing the engine from a metal boat and taking money from the 49 migrants on board.

The fishing boat was seized and docked temporarily in Lampedusa. The Tunisians, aged between 52 and 30, were transferred to Porto Empedocle in Sicily and then transferred to the Agrigento jail. They face sentences of between 10 and 20 years if convicted.

The migrants on board the six-meter boat, which had left from Sfax in Tunisia, were from Ivory Coast, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, and Cameroon. They had reportedly paid 1,500 Tunisian Dinars (about €450) each to the fishermen.

Also read: Fisherman-turned-pirates prey on migrant boats in Mediterranean

Growing phenomenon

The acting chief prosecutor of Agrigento, Salvatore Vella, has indicated that the problem of piracy against migrants is growing. "We do not wish to criminalize the entire Tunisian seafaring [community], but there are several fishing vessels that have been used to commit these illegal activities," Vella said.

A few weeks ago, Lampedusa law enforcement authorities stopped the captain of the fishing boat Assyl Salah of Monastir, and the three members of the crew, who had asked migrants for their cell phones and money in exchange for towing them towards Lampedusa.

Piracy has become a profitable business for former fishermen, Vella said. "[N]umerous Tunisian fishing crews have stopped their fishing activities and have dedicated themselves to the more lucrative activity of piracy, preying on the many little boats that continue to depart from the coasts of Sfax."