Police on last week’s manhunt for Somalis behind migrant racket

Sunday, November 29, 2015

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One of the two Syrians apprehended as they were about to embark on a flight to Malta with fake passports will have to answer to charges of terrorism, Italian media reported yesterday.

Thirty-year-old Alali Faowaw was caught by Italian authorities in Bergamo on Wednesday along with another co-national.

Faowaw was initially charged only with being in possession of false documents, but after Italian prosecutors had reviewed photographs of a flag bearing the Islamic State motto and of Faowaw in Islamic State gear taken from his mobile telephone, they now believe that he formed part of the Islamic State.

He will have to answer to charges of terrorism-related association and recruitment at the next court hearing, scheduled for 17 December.

Over the past few days, seven Syrians have been caught trying to embark on flights to Malta from Rome, Bergamo and Treviso.

When he appeared in court, Faowaw said that he had suffered at the hands of the Islamic State when jihadists took over the town of Raqqa in Syria. He testified that he had returned to Raqqa after living in Greece for two years, where he also played for an amateur football team.

Forced to work as a police officer, he said he was later accused of corruption and sentenced to a fine and 100 lashes.

His co-traveller, Hazem Alhamed, said he had escaped from the village where he lived before the jihadists arrived and went to live in Saudi Arabia for two years. He first went via Turkey and then to the Balkans where he requested political asylum. Hazem said he wanted to reach Malta to meet a brother and work.

The Maltese government said it has re-imposed border controls after uncovering a racket involving the smuggling of migrants to Malta.
Maltese police silent on ringleader manhunt

While government sources last Saturday had said the Maltese authorities were hunting down two Somalis in Malta who were allegedly the ringleaders of a racket that brought migrants to Malta to claim asylum and eventually work, the Maltese police has refused to comment on the investigations.

In reply to questions submitted by this newspaper, the police said: “Due to the sensitive nature of these investigations, it would be imprudent to comment at this stage.”

Last Saturday, the Maltese authorities were reportedly attempting to track down the suspected ringleaders of a migration racket that has been uncovered by the Maltese Security Services working in tandem with their foreign counterparts.

One unnamed Somali suspect has been apprehended by the Maltese authorities, while another Somali man living in St Paul’s Bay is on the run and is being sought by police.

More stringent checks at the Italian borders, and Malta’s temporary suspension of Schengen rules due to this month’s migration summit and CHOGM, are said to have helped the Maltese authorities, working in concert with foreign intelligence services, to uncover a racket that has included the falsification of European passports and the purchasing of flights from Italy to Malta primarily for migrants intending to seek asylum, and consequently work, in Malta.

According to government sources speaking with this newspaper, the Maltese authorities have been working closely with foreign intelligence services this week after two pairs of Syrians were caught attempting to fly out of Italy for Malta with fake European passports – one pair from Bergamo and the other from Rome.

According to our sources, in both cases those apprehended claimed to the Italian authorities that they were to seek asylum in Malta, after which they would be able to work in the country.

Government sources speaking to this newspaper yesterday said that before these four were apprehended, another 25 migrants had arrived through the racket’s route in Malta since the beginning of the year.

In total, the racket is believed to have brought to Malta as many as 250 people – mainly of Syrian or Somali nationality – to claim asylum.

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