Two Tunisians without criminal records and a Moroccan convicted on drug charges and crimes against property have been arrested in connection with two fires that devastated a pre-removal detention center (CPR) in Milo, located near Trapani, Sicily.

A preliminary investigations judge in Trapani agreed to a pre-trial detention request against the three presented by local prosecutors on January 31.

The cause of the fires

The two arson attacks were reported at the facility on January 22, when a group of foreigners started fires in a few rooms at the center, investigative sources said.

Initially, blankets, paper and plastic were set on fire in a few rooms. They were used to burn mattresses, causing thick smoke to spread throughout the building.

Investigators said they discovered that some of the guests had closed the rooms to cause more damage.

The same occurred in other areas of the CPR.

In a few minutes, three sectors of the facility were invaded by black, toxic smoke. Firefighters successfully extinguished the fire after several hours.

Once calm has apparently returned around 7 p.m. local time, new fires were started, rendering the majority of the CPR uninhabitable, sources said.

Images recorded by cameras in the common area allowed investigators to watch the events unfold, although many of those involved had covered their faces and were wearing hoods, which did not allow their identification, investigative sources said.

The three suspects detained had not covered their faces and were identified, according to the sources.

Two of them brought bags with paper and plastic to the rooms where the fires were started while a third brought a blanket used to set a fire in one of the sectors destroyed, the investigative sources added.

The three suspects were still wearing the clothes and accessories they wore in the video recordings when they were arrested on January 24, investigators noted.

'Indiscriminate action of destruction of CPR', judge says

In the measure validating the arrest of the three migrants, the Trapani preliminary investigations judge wrote that the significant and multiple "damages" caused to the center made it clear that the "action of indiscriminate destruction of the CPR facility" was aimed at "making the lodgings for non-EU citizens uninhabitable".

"The objective was effectively achieved, given the measure banning access to all the sectors affected by the fire", he added.

Firefighters wrote in their report that "nearly all housing units affected by the fire were seriously damaged, not only due to the fire but also the intense black smoke caused by it" which led parts of the ceiling and walls to collapse, making the units "uninhabitable".