Updated 12.30pm with government reaction
A Ukrainian organised crime syndicate has been discovered trafficking Eastern Europeans into Malta, but the government has rejected investigators' claims that they believe Maltese authorities could have played a role in “facilitating” the racket.
There are currently 23 persons who are being questioned in relation to this "successful" operation, the government said on Saturday.
Police sources on Friday said the criminal gang had been uncovered following weeks of investigation, but this was just the first step in what they believed would be a long and complicated investigation.
“One of the big questions we have to ask now is, how were they getting away with this? How was this happening?”
Senior investigators suspect the gang has been receiving help from people inside State authorities. They will be shining a spotlight on entities involved in the issuance of work permits and border control.
“We could be talking about bribery, or perhaps about other means of corrupting officials, this is a complicated investigation,” they said.
It was not known at the time of writing whether anyone would be charged in court, but the Times of Malta is informed that a number of Ukrainian men have already been arrested.
The government released a brief statement on Thursday evening saying only that around 20 human trafficking victims would be granted emergency protection status.
Sources said the gang was believed to be part of an international web that was based in Eastern Europe and had ‘regional offices’ across the EU.
We could be talking about bribery, or perhaps other means of corrupting officials
"This gang had a foothold in Malta, mostly through marrying Maltese, to be able to remain on the island," the sources explained.
They further explained that the business model used by the gangs would be to trick foreigners from non-EU countries into agreeing to come to Malta under false pretences.
The promise of steady and well-paid employment often proved too good to pass up, however the eager workers would later find themselves stranded in the EU, made to work under precarious conditions and without the necessary paperwork.
The sources said the victims could help shed more light on the criminal activity.
This was not the only human trafficking investigation being carried out by the authorities.
Just last month the Times of Malta reported how a Maltese man and his Chinese, female partner had been charged with human trafficking linked to massage parlours.
A witness in the case, a qualified masseuse, said that what had originally been a job offer in the massage industry gradually turned out to be a harrowing experience, with her employers forcing her to render sexual services to clients.
Reference is made to the front page story on the Times of Malta entitled ‘Maltese authorities may have helped traffickers’.
No public officials involved - government
In a statement, the government denied that any "authorities" may have helped traffickers.
It said that after weeks of police investigations with the assistance of Identity Malta, which uncovered this case of human trafficking, the government can confirm there were no public officials involved.
Ukranian nationals do not need a visa to travel to Malta and therefore they did not need any help from local authorities to conduct their illegal activities.
"On the contrary, the results obtained in this investigation show that Maltese authorities are functioning well and responding in a timely manner to any abuse of the system."