Egypt says 'mafia of smugglers' carry illegal migrants to Europe

The Egyptian authorities on Wednesday blamed a “mafia of smugglers” who are working in Egypt for carrying illegal migrants to Europe, Arabs48 news website reported.

In response to a question about the possibility that people smugglers were responsible for the recent sinking of a ship carrying refugees and migrants, spokesperson for the Egyptian Interior Ministry Hany Abdel-Latif told AFP news agency that: “There is a mafia of smugglers that work on smuggling illegal immigrants to Italy.”

The official’s remarks come only a week after a ship carrying some 500 refugees and migrants sank in the Mediterranean Sea after leaving Egyptian territory.

Arabs48 reported that they were on their way to Italy when Egyptian and Palestinian smugglers deliberately hit their ship off Malta because they had refused to climb into a smaller boat, according to survivors.

The International Organisation for Migration said that only ten people survived the accident, which is one of the most serious in recent years in the Mediterranean.

The refugees and migrants are from Syria, the Palestinian territories, Egypt and Sudan. They are believed to have started their journey on 6 September from the Egyptian city of Damietta on the Mediterranean coast.

Abdul Latif said, “Those Syrians and Palestinians enter Egypt with tourist visas, then attempt to get smuggled to Italy.”

The economic difficulties and political instability in Egypt since the 2011 revolution that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak have also forced many Egyptians to migrate illegally to Europe in the hope of a better life.