Three Syrian stowaways found on the catamaran from Sicily yesterday represent a recent phenomenon of migrants from Italy seeking work in Malta, according to a human rights campaigner.

Lawyer Neil Falzon, from Aditus, said that over the past few years Malta’s robust economy served as an attraction for migrants in hard-pressed Italy.

He was reacting to the discovery of three Syrian men hiding in the back of an SUV, which was on a catamaran that had arrived from Sicily on Monday night.

Customs officers made the discovery when searching the SUV on suspicion it was carrying items on which duty had to be paid. Inside the vehicle, which was driven by a Maltese man, they found a migrant hidden under some cartons and another two in the boot.

In a statement, the Customs Department said they also found boxes full of water bottles that were subject to excise and duty and which were being imported for resale.

The Syrian men and the Maltese driver were handed over to the immigration police. They were interrogated and kept under arrest.

Police sources said the men were expected to be charged in the coming days.

The sources said the Syrians were likely making the illegal journey to join other members of the Syrian community in Malta. It is unclear to what extent the Maltese man was involved in the affair.

This represents the reverse of the more significant phenomenon over the past decade whereby migrants in Malta used the catamaran service to leave the islands for Sicily.

But according to Dr Falzon the number of migrants coming from other EU member states to Malta has been increasing since the economic crisis of 2008.

“Just as Italians are leaving Italy and coming to Malta opening restaurants in a bid to escape unemployment, so too are many migrants making the trip back across the Mediterranean,” Dr Falzon said.

He said this was economic migration through which people in countries like Italy and Spain where economic conditions were poor and unemployment was high were looking outwards for work.

“This is true also of migrants,” he said.

Dr Falzon said he had seen a number of such cases in Malta since the economic crisis. While some migrants found work fairly easily, others, he noted, would struggle. “We’ve had cases of migrants who do quite well working and living in Malta and then we’ve had cases of some who find no work and end up living in open centres.”

There were a few cases of migrants sent back to Italy after being discovered living and working without permits in Malta, he added.

His main concern, however, was the conditions migrants often had to endure to make the trip to Malta. Many migrants, he said, would be forced to use risky methods if they did not have the necessary documentation.

Also of concern was the possibility of migrants being purposely trafficked to Malta. Dr Falzon said he was worried about the possibility of Maltese businessmen buying cheap labourers from Italy and these being subjected to rights violations.

Escaping via the catamaran

The discovery of three migrants hidden in an SUV being smuggled into Malta via the catamaran service goes counter to past experiences when people movement was in the opposite direction.

2009

July: Italian police caught nine migrants inside a freezer container that had just arrived in Pozzallo from Malta via the catamaran. The migrants had escaped detention in Malta and were repatriated by the Italian authorities.

August: Three migrants – two Nigerians and a man from Burkina Faso – carrying false passports with the words ‘State of Sabotage’ printed on them were caught trying to escape from Malta illegally. They were trying to board the catamaran to Sicily. A Nigerian man had also been charged with trying to help them make the crossing.

September: A Frenchman was charged with giving his passport to a Nigerian immigrant so he could escape from Malta via the catamaran to Sicily.

2011

Two migrants were found in the boot of a car that was about to board the catamaran in Malta. The two Ethiopian men had paid a Sicilian to ferry them illegally to Italy in his car.

Law enforcement officials made the find when the Sicilian had opened the car boot to check whether the migrants were breathing just before boarding the ferry in Malta.

2014

A Ghanaian and a Somali were caught by the police in Valletta with fake travel documents as they tried to board the catamaran to Sicily.