Italian police on Thursday detained eight people "seriously suspected" of belonging to a transnational criminal organization accused of facilitating irregular migration between Algeria, Italy and France.
In a statement, Polizia di Stato said more than 100 officers took part in the operation in Cagliari, with support from specialized police units, targeting individuals allegedly involved in organizing clandestine sea crossings to the Italian island of Sardinia.
According to investigators, the network was led by an Algerian asylum seeker living near Cagliari, who was believed to have coordinated the recruitment of migrants and boat operators in Algeria, collected payments for the journeys and organized the crossings.
Police said the investigation uncovered an established network linking El Kala in Algeria, Cagliari in Italy and Marseille in France. Authorities documented at least five clandestine crossings from the Algerian coast to Sardinia and identified the suspected smugglers involved.
The suspects, according to the statement, also operated a document-forgery scheme, selling falsified asylum application documents for about €150 (over $170) each to help foreign nationals remain in or travel illegally across Italy.
Investigators said each migrant would have paid around €2,500 for the journey to Italy. They also uncovered an unfulfilled plan to smuggle about 500 kilograms of hashish and 10 kilograms of cocaine from Spain using high-speed inflatable boats known as "Phantom."