Two Chinese citizens in the Tuscan city of Prato have been placed under investigation for allegedly requesting money from migrants in exchange for a place in the queue in front of the local central police department's immigration office.
Investigators in the Tuscan city of Prato, north of Florence, believe an organization illegally managed access to the queues of foreigners who need the services of the immigration office at the local central police department.
The State Attorney's Office in Prato in the morning of February 23 ordered the local flying squad to search the properties of two Chinese citizens, both aged 47, who are under investigation for allegedly organizing a scheme that charged people between 1,000 and 1,500 euros for a place in the queues outside the immigration office.
People who worked for them allegedly stood in line well before opening hours so they could sell their spot, investigative sources said.
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How the organization allegedly operated in front of the immigration office
The alleged scam constitutes "an activity of illicit intrusion into the management of access to the immigration office," said Prato Prosecutor Luca Tescaroli, aimed at "obtaining an international protection permit," which led to violent behaviour against those who arrived early and regularly waited in line, without giving their place to clan members so they could sell it to others.
On February 23, suspected members of the clan hit a Pakistani man who was regularly waiting in line, investigators said.
Earlier, on January 4, two Egyptians who were waiting in front of the immigration office to renew their documents were beaten with a cane and had to flee, according to the same sources, who said the situation had been ongoing since the beginning of this year.
The violence was particularly aimed against North Africans and Pakistanis to favour Chinese citizens and other Pakistani nationals who were willing to pay a bribe, investigative sources explained.
The Prato flying squad on February 23 seized documents on protection and international asylum and 3,000 euros in cash from the pair under investigation as part of their search operation. They also identified at least 13 alleged members of the organization who stood in line so their place could be sold to foreigners who were willing to pay the bribe.
Such a system prevented or delayed services for other foreigners, considering that the office handling international protection permits is only open on Monday for 10 people per session.
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Probe 'proves there is a foreign criminal network,' says La Porta (FdI)
The right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party whip in Tuscany's regional council, Chiara La Porta commented on the police operation saying that, "the exploitation of workers wasn't enough, now a racket" managing "the lines for international protection applications has also emerged - proof of the existence of a foreign criminal network operating at every level" which uses "illegal and violent methods."
La Porta called it a "shameful network at the expense of the most marginalized operated by some Chinese for the advantage of other Chinese and uncovered today by the police operation led by Prato prosecutors. An intervention that comes a few weeks after the crackdown operated by the central police department that shed light on a system of fake residences" to obtain "stay permits."
In a statement, La Porta also spoke about "an alarming scenario that, unfortunately, is not surprising", hailing "intensified controls and investigations aimed at dismantling a criminal underworld that has operated in Prato for too many years and has led the city to its current situation."
The FdI whip went on to state that such a "criminal system" was so "brazen" that it was "able to even insinuate itself in the management of the access to the central police department's immigration office."
"We can't even imagine what would have happened had the Democratic Party's embarrassing proposal to let the Municipality of Prato directly handle residence permits been approved", she noted of the centre-left party, calling it a "folly which fortunately only remained on paper but is even more perplexing in light of what has emerged."
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