Mafia Cells Arrange Human Smuggling Across The Mediterranean

An Italian report confirmed the involvement of Mafia gangs in the smuggling of migrants from North Africa countries across the Mediterranean, which caused the deaths of thousands of migrants who drowned at sea.

“Mafia cells have invested huge financial resources in illegal immigration activities across the Mediterranean to Italy”, the report said.

“Illegal immigration has become one of the most important and most expensive commercial activities for Italian criminal and mafia organizations”.

The report, which is issued every half year, asserted that the Mafia groups cooperate particularly with smugglers from Maghreb countries, to transfer migrants from the coasts of North Africa to the island of Sicily, southern Italy”.

“The participation of the Italian Mafia in the smuggling of migrants from Libya recently reached top levels”.

“Criminal groups adopt a similar approach to that adopted by Mafia groups in cities such as Sicily, Calabria and Campania”.

“These groups succeed illegal immigration in coordination with foreign Mafia cells to coordinate migration flows from North Africa countries”.

Italy’s new policy on immigration led to a marked decline in illegal immigrants in 2018.

The figures of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Migration (UNHCR) showed that migrants who come to Italy in the first half of 2018 declined compared to the same period of 2017.

Some 16,000 immigrants arrived in Italy from the beginning of 2018 to July 8, compared to 85,000 in the same period of last year.

Deaths in the Mediterranean have dropped to 1,000 cases since the beginning of the year.