Two foreign citizens have been arrested in the northern Italian cities of Imperia and Milan on charges of criminal association to aid and abet transnational illegal immigration and abduction for extortion purposes.
Two men aged 26 and 37, a Senegalese and an Egyptian citizen, were arrested on January 26 in the northern Italian cities of Imperia and Milan by police forces and investigators from the central operations service (Sco) of Rome, Sisco of Palermo, as well as the flying squads of Agrigento and Palermo, coordinated as DDA anti-mafia investigators in the Sicilian city's State Attorney's Office.
The suspects are accused of criminal association aimed at aiding and abetting transnational illegal immigration and abduction for extortion. A Palermo preliminary investigations judge (GIP) issued the arrest warrants.
Investigation launched after landing recorded on Lampedusa in 2022
The arrests followed a major investigation over a landing reported on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, which falls under the jurisdiction of Agrigento, on August 25, 2022.
According to testimony provided by several passengers, the suspects, who travelled to Italy on the boat with them, played an active role within the organization that had planned the illegal journey to Italy.
Investigators, in addition, discovered that one of the men arrested had also been allegedly active within the criminal organization as a designated guard at a migrant detention camp in the area of Zuwara.
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In particular, the alleged guard was accused of physical and psychological abuse against detained migrants, both aimed at maintaining order inside the 'safe house' and extorting money from the detainees' families in exchange for speeding up their departure for Italy, investigative sources said.
A third suspect against whom authorities have issued an international arrest warrant is believed to be abroad. The charges against the suspects are based on circumstantial evidence and the results of the ongoing investigation, which means their criminal responsibility will be determined during a future trial, according to a statement on the case issued by the central police department of Agrigento.
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