Somali to face trafficking charges

A Somali national is today expected to be charged with human trafficking between Libya and Malta.

The man was allegedly recognised by illegal immigrants when he came to Malta, sources said.

The unprecedented arraignment of the suspect trafficker working on the Libya route comes as the debate on the illegal immigration problem reached a climax last week with a parliamentary debate on the phenomenon.

Just recently, the government said it was considering whether it should raise the maximum five-year prison term for people caught trafficking illegal immigrants. The present maximum jail term was deemed inadequate by both the Labour Party and Alternattiva Demokratika in the face of an unprecedented wave of immigrant arrivals in the winter months.

Three large vessels, carrying a total of 651 immigrants, sailed to Malta this winter, something unusual for this time of year.

While it was believed that the large boats were likely to have left directly from Libya's shores, many have speculated about the possible presence of a ship in the Mediterranean offloading illegal immigrants onto smaller boats.

Last year, a record 2,757 had arrived here, along with 758 in the first two months of this year.