Italian police crack human smuggling ring
Police in the northern Italian city of Trieste have dismantled a human trafficking ring that used Italy as a base to smuggle illegal migrants into northern Europe.
Ten suspects have been arrested and 14 raids were carried out across Lombardy, Campania and Fruili €enezia Giulia, La Stampa reported on Monday.
With its origins in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the gang allegedly smuggled people into Italy via Turkey, before transporting them to Germany and other northern European countries.
Hidden in vans, an estimated 100 undocumented Afghans and Pakistanis paid the smugglers between $5,000 (€3,631) and $10,000 (€7,263) to be taken to Europe, La Stampa reported.
The arrests are the culmination of an 18-month investigation by Italy’s Polizia di Frontiera (border police) in coordination with the Servizio Centrale Operative (Central Operations Service) and police forces in Croatia , Slovenia, Austria and Germany.
Police will reveal more details of the investigation at a press conference in Trieste at 11.30 CET.
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Ten suspects have been arrested and 14 raids were carried out across Lombardy, Campania and Fruili €enezia Giulia, La Stampa reported on Monday.
With its origins in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the gang allegedly smuggled people into Italy via Turkey, before transporting them to Germany and other northern European countries.
Hidden in vans, an estimated 100 undocumented Afghans and Pakistanis paid the smugglers between $5,000 (€3,631) and $10,000 (€7,263) to be taken to Europe, La Stampa reported.
The arrests are the culmination of an 18-month investigation by Italy’s Polizia di Frontiera (border police) in coordination with the Servizio Centrale Operative (Central Operations Service) and police forces in Croatia , Slovenia, Austria and Germany.
Police will reveal more details of the investigation at a press conference in Trieste at 11.30 CET.
Don't miss a story about Italy - Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
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