Palermo prosecutors on Tuesday
ordered the arrests of the members of a criminal organisation
brining migrants from Tunisia to Sicily on "de luxe" voyages on
high-speed dinghies, judicial sources said.
The passengers were prepared to pay dear in exchange for safe
journeys, the sources said.
Those who landed were able to elude police controls and
identification procedures.
This service could also be used by terrorists wanting to
preserve their anonymity, police said.
The organisation included jihadis among its members, police
said.
The suspected extremists manifested attitudes hostile to
Western culture, police said, also via propaganda using fake
profiles on social media platforms.
Seven members of the gang have been arrested and six are
wanted, police said.
Those arrested are: Adele Micalizzi, wife of the Brancaccio
boss Cosimo Geloso, who ran cigarette smuggling for the gang,
Mokhtar Riani, Mohamed Zoubirim, Fouzia Ganouane, Mondher
Hamrouni, Hamid Hassoune and Mehdi Ben Ayed.
One of those arrested is a suspected jihadi who allegedly
praised jihad on social media, police said.
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