Ten people are under investigation in Crotone for offences related to illegal immigration and the public administration after police dismantled an alleged facilitation network. They are suspected of having helped foreign nationals enter and remain irregularly in Italy by circumventing immigration regulations.
The state police in Crotone have served notices concluding the preliminary investigations on ten individuals believed, in various capacities, to be responsible for offences concerning illegal immigration and crimes against the public administration.
Reconstruction of the system
The investigation, carried out by the Digos division and coordinated by the local public prosecutor's office, reconstructed an alleged system aimed at facilitating the irregular entry and stay of foreign nationals in Italy by bypassing existing regulations.
Two individuals, reported jointly, are under investigation for aggravated facilitation of illegal immigration, as they allegedly assisted the illegal entry of numerous migrants.
A lawyer has also been reported for charges of facilitating the entry and stay on Italian territory of three non-EU nationals.
Another person, reported for aiding and abetting, allegedly attempted to help one of the suspects evade the investigation after obtaining information from another individual who is in turn under investigation for disclosure of official secrets.
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Prefecture employees also involved
One line of investigation, investigators explain, concerns several employees of the prefecture of Crotone. Among them are an official and an employee of the immigration desk who, by issuing requested residence permits and acting together, allegedly committed the offence of facilitating illegal immigration in favor of three foreign nationals.
The three foreign nationals who allegedly benefited from the illicit conduct are also involved in the investigation. The notifications were also carried out outside the province of Crotone with the cooperation of police headquarters in Latina, Terni and Bologna.
The investigations, which lasted more than a year, were directly overseen by the public prosecutor of Crotone, Domenico Guarascio, together with the team of magistrates dealing with efforts to combat criminal networks exploiting migration flows and to prosecute any form of disloyalty or corruption within the public administration.
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