Updated | Human smuggler arrested, another on the run
By Miriam Dalli
The police arrested a Somali man suspected of having managed the trips of over 200 migrants who wanted to reach Malta from Italy. The man was held this afternoon but the police are still searching for another man linked to the racket.
A 31-year-old man from Birkirkara who landed in Malta following a flight from Rome last Thursday was arrested on suspicion of aiding migrants leave Italy illegally.
The individuals, mostly asylum seekers fleeing war in Syria and persecution in Somalia, would use fake passports to pass off as European citizens, allowing them to go through the Schengen zone without any checks.
On two separate but related occasions, the Italian authorities stopped four Syrians at the Bergamo and Ciampino airports as they tried to reach Malta using false documents.
Increased checks and controls at the borders and the suspension of Schengen rules in Malta and Italy led to renewed passport controls. In turn, this uncovered "a racket” whereby migrants would cross over, seeking asylum on the island.
According to the Maltese government, the persons in question were applying for asylum, who often used photos of people involved in war – whom they claim are their relatives – to sustain their claims for asylum.
A total of 30 people were said to have entered Malta from the start of the year, who are now being traced down by the authorities, together with collaborators.
"From the analysis of the authorities involved, these people are unrelated to terrorism. Their abuse is related to false documentation for the provision of international protection and work permits,” the government has said.
But
Opposition leader Simon Busuttil finds it hard to believe that the
individuals were trying to reach Malta just for work and asylum
purposes.
"Sorry, I don’t buy that,” the PN leader tweeted.
Authorities
in various member states, including Italy and Malta, are trying to
crackdown on criminal organisations that facilitate the transit of
foreigners through the bloc’s borders, providing them with false
documentation, flight tickets and money.
An investigation by the
Guardian revealed that forgers in the Middle East were offering fake
Syrian passports for as little as $250.
During an emergency
meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on Friday, EU member
states admitted that only a few governments had actually strengthened
checks for certain EU citizens, as agreed in May.
According to
Euractiv, all EU citizens will be now considered a potential threat, so
all EU travellers will be subject to a stricter scrutiny, including
checks against the Schengen Information System(SIS), as is the case for
all third country nationals.
Besides the loopholes in the
external border controls, ministers also emphasised that member states
should improve their exchange of intelligence. Officials estimate that
five member states share"half of the information" related to foreign
terrorists, while the other capitals barely engage in the exchange of
information.
Therefore, the ministers agreed on making"maximum
use” of the Schengen tools to improve the overall level of information
exchange between counter-terrorism authorities in the EU.
Updated | Human smuggler arrested, another on the run
Police arrest Somali man suspected of having aided over 200 migrants to reach Malta from Italy using false documents, another on the run