UPDATED 7pm:
The police arrested a Somali man this afternoon and another one is still on the run among suspicions they are believed to be behind a racket which involved bringing migrants to Malta from Italy carrying fake documents to seek asylum.
A 31-year-old man residing in Birkirkara who landed in Malta following a flight from Rome last Thursday was arrested yesterday afternoon on suspicion of aiding migrants leave Italy illegally.
The authorities believe they have uncovered a racket which involved bringing migrants to Malta from Italy carrying fake documents to seek asylum.
The police are seeking a Somali man residing in St Paul’s Bay who is believed to have coordinated the trips from Italy of an estimated 250 migrants, mainly Syrians and Somalis.
The racket was uncovered after Malta reimposed border controls in the wake of the EU and Commonwealth summits.
“We found out that they were travelling with fake passports, mainly Greek, to seek asylum and find work in Malta,” a spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister told timesofmalta.com.
"The police investigation is just focusing on smuggling and there is no evidence of any terrorist activity. There is no other reason to suspect anything other than the fact they were seeking work."
There is no other reason to suspect anything other than the fact they were seeking work
The issue came to the fore after six Syrians were stopped in Italy trying to travel to Malta with fake passports, prompting fears among the public, especially after pictures of conflict was discovered on the mobile phones of one individual.
The scam was uncovered after the authorities realised that all air tickets were being booked online using the same credit card number, which was then traced to an e-mail and a Maltese phone number.
Upon arrival in Malta, where they were met by the Somali go-between, most migrants would destroy their fictitious travel document to seek asylum. They would destroy their forged passports upon arrival as instructed by their smuggler, who holds refugee status in Malta, and who, according to sources, was once a well-known smuggler in Tripoli.
“We also established that many migrants were carrying pictures of conflict on their mobile phones to justify the fact they faced major threats in their country,” the spokesman said, pointing out that a number chose to come to Malta to reunite with family members.
The government has sought the opinion of the Attorney General to see how to proceed on the matter. Since conflicts in countries like Syria and Somalia broke out, humanitarian organisations have argued that several asylum seekers have had no choice but to resort to producing fake documentation to reach other countries.
But Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said he found it hard to believe that the individuals were trying to reach Malta just for work and asylum purposes.
“Sorry, I don’t buy that,” the PN leader tweeted.