Three Maltese men were arrested early yesterday morning in Ragusa, Sicily, soon after offloading 19 migrants which investigators believe left from Malta.

The arrests followed a high-speed one-and-a-half hour chase which ended in international waters. Warning shots were also fired.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Pozzallo's Capitaneria di Porto confirmed the incident during which two of the three Maltese men were slightly injured when the Guardia Costiera boat tried to slow down the boat.

The three men were named as Joseph Scerri, 43, Kurt Buhagiar, 25 and Michael Aquilina, 36.

They were on board a blue boat with three powerful outboard engines. According to initial investigations, the boat carrying 18 men and one woman had left from Malta.

Ragusa investigators also believe this was not the first time the three men have transported migrants to Italy.

The Italian media reported that the Guardia di Finanza had been monitoring the boat but had not intervened until all the migrants were offloaded.

Once the powerful boat started its voyage back to Malta, the Italian authorities chased and stopped the vessel. The men were arrested and taken to Pozzallo.

Maltese police said they were closely following the development and were in contact with their Italian counterparts.