In Algeria, migrants were recruited and the crossings were organized. In Sardinia, there was a structure responsible for welcoming illegal immigrants, forging documents, and providing support to members of the criminal organization . One of the organization's main financiers operated in the Marseille area, responsible for obtaining funds and high-performance naval vessels, particularly super-fast inflatable boats (known as "Phantoms") for transporting illegal immigrants and drugs.

And it is precisely those dinghies that gave the name to Operation "Phantom," which today led to the execution of eight arrest warrants issued by the District Anti-Mafia Directorate against eight Algerians (all between the ages of 25 and 39) suspected of being part of an international criminal syndicate dedicated to trafficking illegal immigrants to Sardinia. Three similar warrants were issued against three other men currently abroad.

A criminal network that began in El Kala, Algeria, and passed through Cagliari and Marseille. At its head was a 27-year-old Algerian asylum seeker who had recently settled in the Cagliari area . According to investigators, he managed the recruitment of migrants and smugglers in Algeria. He collected the money needed for the crossings and organized the clandestine journeys to the island's coasts, even bribing local authorities to facilitate the departures.

The investigation and the clandestine crossings

The investigation was conducted by the Central Operations Service (SCO) of the State Police Central Anti-Crime Directorate and the Cagliari Flying Squad, with the support of SISCO, under the direction of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate. It began in February, after several migrants who had landed illegally in Italy were stopped in Olbia and found in possession of fake forms certifying their requests for international protection. It relied on wiretaps and wiretaps, shadowing, document acquisition, and investigative checks in the area. Investigators were thus able to reconstruct in detail the structure of the syndicate, its methods of operation, and its future plans.

At least five crossings departing from El Kala and heading towards the southern coast of the island have been documented by investigators, who have also identified the alleged smugglers, documenting a proven system of aiding illegal immigration.

The projects

But the organization was thinking big; it wanted to retire the "tramps" of the sea. It had recently acquired powerful inflatable boats with ultra-high-powered engines—the Phantoms—with which it planned to launch a new human trafficking route. The boats were to depart from the Sardinian coast, reach the Tunisian island of La Galite, and pick up groups of migrants, transporting them quickly to the island via ultra-fast crossings . This way, they could multiply the number of trips and profits, considering that the crossing to the island cost around 2,500 euros per migrant.

The counterfeit documents

In Sardinia, a network of accomplices operated, tasked with welcoming illegal immigrants and, above all, producing counterfeit documents. There was, in fact, a well-established system for counterfeiting the C3 forms that certified requests for international protection: authentic documents were taken and the photographs replaced. Thus , illegal immigrants, for a fee of €150, could easily remain in the country, moving freely .

Furthermore, some members of the organization had infiltrated the island's reception facilities (which were completely unaware and in no way involved in the investigation), where they obtained the original documents to use to create the forgeries . These documents were also used to obtain psychotropic drugs for illegal sale.

The plan to traffic drugs

The group was also preparing, using the "Phantom" dinghies, for a thriving international drug trafficking operation. They had already planned to import 500 kilos of hashish and 10 kilos of cocaine from Spain, to be transported by sea.

The arrests

In light of the serious evidence of guilt uncovered over a six-month investigation and the risk of several suspects fleeing, the DDA ordered the arrest of eleven people. The order was carried out in the early hours of the morning by over 100 State Police officers, including members of the Central Operations Service, the Cagliari Flying Squad, the SISCO (Italian National Security and Coordination Unit), the Crime Prevention Unit, the Flight Unit, the canine units, the Regional Forensic Police Office, and the 13th Sardinia Mobile Unit.

(Unioneonline/L)

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