(AP) Italian police arrested 12 people Thursday and have issued warrants for another six over their alleged roles in a high-speed migrant-smuggling ring that operated between Tunisia and Sicily.
The suspects are alleged to have demanded payment of 3,000-5,000 euros ($3,100-$5,200) in cash per person, packed the boats with 10 to 30 passengers at a time, and pocketed 30,000-70,000 euros for each four-hour journey, police said in a statement.
Phone intercepts revealed that the smugglers discussed dumping migrants overboard in the case of problems such as failed motors, police said.
The investigation was launched in February 2019 after a fisherman in Sicily’s port of Gela noticed a 10-meter glass fiber boat with two 200-horsepower motors.
