The 57-year-old Libyan arrested by the Cagliari police during the night is being investigated for aiding and abetting illegal immigration . The man is part of the crew of a gas tanker which at 7 am on 31 January docked at the Sarroch refinery. The commander reported to the Border Police that shortly before, off the coast of Sardinia, he had rescued three Moroccan nationals, found at sea while swimming with difficulty towards the shore.
The investigations carried out by the Flying Squad and the staff of Frontex - the European Border and Coast Guard Agency - to ascertain another truth: each of the three Moroccans would have paid 4,000 euros for the transport from Tripoli , the port of departure of the ship, on the coasts of Sardinia. The money for the crossing would have been handed over, in Tripoli, to an unidentified "Libyan immigration officer", who would then have entrusted the three foreigners to the suspect.
Then, unbeknownst to the crew and the captain, the Moroccans were allegedly hidden in a compartment of the gas carrier on January 28, when it set sail for Italy.
Arriving about two km from the coast , it positioned itself at anchor in the Sarroch harbor, the arrested would have made them lower into the sea, making them wear life jackets . At that point, however, the three, frightened by the very rough waters, would have started screaming for help .
Some crew members noticed those three people at the mercy of the waves and rescued them, believing they really were shipwrecked.
For fear of retaliation, none of the three Moroccans told the truth even to the commander, until they were heard by the police and Frontex.
The detainee is now in Uta prison.
In the meantime, the three Moroccan citizens have applied for asylum to the Police Headquarters, which is also evaluating the issue of a residence permit for reasons of justice, considering that they have made statements useful to the investigations.
The facts ascertained by the State Police investigators will be submitted to the evaluation of the GIP, who will decide on the judicial police detention during tomorrow's hearing.
(Unioneonline/ss)