Italy cracks down on high-speed migrant traffickers

MILAN (AP) — Italian police have issued 18 arrest warrants for Italians and Tunisians accused of operating a migrant-trafficking route on high-speed boats between Tunisia’s coast and Sicilian ports. The suspects are alleged to have demanded payment of 3,000-5,000 euros ($3,100-$5,200) in cash per person, packed the boats with 10 to 30 passengers at a time, and pocketed 30,000-70,000 euros for each four-hour journey. Police said in a statement that an investigation was launched in February 2019 after a fisherman in Sicily’s port of Gela noticed a 10-meter boat with two 200-horsepower motors. Investigators discovered the boat had been stolen in Catania, Sicily.