A Somali man has been arrested and another is on the run after police uncovered a human smuggling ring that brings migrants to Malta from Italy carrying fake documents.

A 31-year-old man residing in Birkirkara who arrived on a flight from Rome last Thursday was held on suspicion of assisting migrants to depart illegally from Italy.

Together with another man, who resides in St Paul’s Bay, they are believed to have coordinated trips from Italy involving an estimated 250 migrants, mainly Syrians and Somalis, who seek asylum on arrival.

We will strive to continue keeping Malta a safe country- PM

The racket was uncovered after Malta re-imposed border controls in the wake of the EU and Commonwealth summits.

“We found out 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 said.

“The police investigation is focusing solely on smuggling and there is no evidence of terrorist activity. There is no other reason to suspect anything other than the fact they were seeking work.”

Tickets all booked on one card

The issue came to the fore after six Syrians were stopped in Italy trying to travel to Malta with fake passports, prompting fears of terrorist activity after images of conflict were discovered on the mobile phone of one individual.

On Friday, an 18-year-old Syrian was remanded in custody in Italy after denying charges of trying to enter Malta using a Hungarian passport belonging to another man.

The racket was uncovered after the authorities realised that all the air tickets were booked online under the same credit card number.

The men would be met by the Somali go-between once they arrived in Malta, who instructed them to destroy their passports. According to sources, he was once a well-known smuggler in Tripoli.

“We need to track down this smuggler who made money off these people and we need to know who entered Malta. 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.

Most of those who were arriving to Malta from Italy by air or ferry said they chose the island to be reunited with other family members.

The government has sought the advice of the Attorney General while the Security Service is believed to have been in touch with the Refugee Commissioner.

The rapidity with which our services acted is commendable. We will remain vigilant for CHOGM

When contacted, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat commended the rapid action taken to identify the lynchpin.

“The rapidity with which our services acted is commendable. Other countries helped by providing timely information and support. We will remain vigilant for the Commonwealth Summit (CHOGM) and beyond. We will strive to continue keeping Malta a safe country.”

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 Nationalist leader tweeted.

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