Italian police have detained three Egyptian nationals suspected of operating a migrant-smuggling boat that departed from the Libyan coast carrying 57 migrants toward Sicily.
The arrests followed the interception of a wooden boat off the Sicilian coast after a report from the Catania Maritime Directorate. Statements from the migrants and photo identification procedures led authorities to identify the three Egyptians as the suspected boat operators.
According to migrant testimonies, each person reportedly paid between €10,000 and €18,000 for the journey from Libya to Italy.