The government was considering whether it should raise the maximum five-year prison term for people caught trafficking illegal immigrants, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said.

The present maximum jail term has been deemed inadequate by both the Labour Party (PL) and Alternattiva Demokratika in the face of an unprecedented wave of immigrant arrivals in the winter months.

In a 10-point plan dealing with illegal immigration, Azzjoni Nazzjonali has suggested that people caught trafficking illegal immigrants should be automatically jailed for life.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici explained that article 337A of the Criminal Code laid down "stern penalties" for the illegal trafficking of persons, including provisions that aggravate the penalties in certain circumstances.

However, he added that the "government is considering whether it should increase the penalties stipulated in this article", which dealt specifically with the type of illegal immigration Malta faced on an annual basis.

The issue came to light after a criminal appeals' court last week reduced the prison term of Peter Borg, 28, by one year in a case of human trafficking. He had been found guilty, along with another two people - Doris Montebello, 54, and Ferhat Guellouma, 53 - of human trafficking in 2002.

The reduction in the sentence was justifiable on legal grounds because the appeals' court found the court of first instance had wrongly applied the provisions of relapse when delivering judgment.

However, the case reopened the argument as to whether the penalties for human trafficking were adequate or not.

Ms Montebello had been jailed for four years and Mr Guellouma for five, the maximum, as he was considered to be the mastermind.

The Criminal Code lays down that any person found guilty of trafficking people illegally in or out of Malta is liable to imprisonment for between six months and five years and/or a fine of €23,293.

"In light of what we are experiencing with the sudden influx of illegal immigrants, I believe we should consider increasing the maximum prison term for those who traffic these people," the PL spokesman for home affairs, Michael Falzon said.

He insisted that every case would still need to be treated on its own merits.

AD public relations officer Ralph Cassar concurred with the higher prison term, insisting that the criminals involved in trafficking people illegally were making a lot of money on the back of poor and vulnerable individuals.

"Sometimes, they literally take the life savings of these individuals. Alternattiva Demokratika believes the prison term for these criminals should be increased to reflect the gravity of the crime," Mr Cassar said.

Reflecting the widespread anti-immigrant feeling, he said the criminals were causing problems in the destination countries because of the illegal situation immigrants found themselves in.

"As a consequence, public opinion is turning against the victims," Mr Cassar said.

The government had addressed a considerable number of issues attached to the illegal trafficking of persons when the White Slave Traffic Ordinance and the Criminal Code were amended in 2006.

The provisions of the ordinance are distinct from the legal provisions dealing with the phenomenon of illegal immigration.

The amendments dealt with the illegal trafficking of persons under coercion, for the purpose of exploitation at work, in prostitution or the removal of organs, providing harsher penalties if the trafficked persons are minors.

A recent United Nations report showed that 18 female victims of human trafficking, as defined by the White Slave Traffic Ordinance, were identified in Malta between 2004 and 2007. Eight of the women, who were identified in 2006 and 2007, were trafficked for sexual exploitation.

Last November, a Romanian national was extradited after being arrested in Malta. He was wanted by the Romanian authorities for charges on human trafficking for prostitution purposes including minors.

Penalties for human trafficking

The most recent cases dealing with human trafficking involved criminals operating from Malta to Sicily. There have been no cases filed against individuals who trafficked immigrants from Libya to Malta.

December 2007
Antoine Borg, 26, is fined €23,293 after admitting to complicity in trafficking Chinese nationals from Malta to Sicily. The criminal act happened in 2004.

March 2007
Lin Xin, 35, an Australian national of Chinese origin, was jailed for six months after pleading guilty to human trafficking in November 2006.

The jail term is agreed between the defence and the prosecution on the understanding that Mr Lin filed a guilty plea. The magistrate ruled he agree with the jail term noting that Mr Lin had cooperated with the police.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com