The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) yesterday brought in 84 illegal immigrants in three separate groups.

In the first incident, the AFM were informed through their Operations Centre by a tuna-pen cage operator that one of their firm's vessels, the Gambero, which was about 55 nautical miles from Malta, had a boatload of illegal migrants alongside the tuna-pen cage it was towing.

The owner of the firm Mare Blue, Giovanni Ciappara, reported that some 28 migrants including five women were aboard the boat and that they required assistance.

The migrants, all Somalis, were claiming that their group had originally been 34, and that six of their party were missing.

By 11.38 a.m., an AFM Air Wing Islander aircraft was scrambled to the area and verified the initial report.

At 1.05 p.m., the AFM P-52 Protector-class patrol vessel was dispatched to the area and a mid-sea transfer was carried out.

At 3.30 p.m., the trawler Nuovo Lorenzo notified the AFM that it had spotted a boatload of illegal migrants about 30 miles south of Malta.

The migrants were intercepted by patrol boat P-32 at 6.30 p.m., after having been refuelled enroute by P-52.

These migrants were expected ashore in the early hours of this morning.

At 6.55 p.m., an AFM Air Wing Alouette helicopter conducting a routine aerial patrol around the Maltese coast sighted a boatload of migrants some 27 miles south of Malta.

As P-52 was enroute with its first boatload of migrants, it was diverted to intercept this second boatload of migrants.

They were safely taken onboard at 9.15 p.m., and were expected at Haywharf in Pietà at about one this morning.