CAIRO: A total of 52 people were arrested in the Delta Governorate of Beheria while attempting to “illegally immigrate” to Italy via the Mediterranean coast, Youm7 reported Saturday.
The arrested migrants include: 25 Egyptians, seven Iraqis, two Eritreans, one Sudanese and six Syrians.
They were captured at Edkou Beach by Beheira security forces and Border Intelligence Guards in Abu Qir, a town on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.
During the interrogations, the migrants acknowledged that three agents, to whom they had paid amounts of money, assisted them to travel.
Hundreds of Egyptian and foreign migrants have been arrested while attempting to illegally travel to Italy through the Mediterranean.
Italy, a main destination for refuges and migrants, houses more than 84, 000 migrants in shelters across the country, Reuters reported. The Italian and Egyptian authorities have foiled many attempts of illegal immigration by asylum seekers.
On July 9, Egyptian naval forces foiled an attempt by 74 migrants from different nationalities while trying to illegally travel to the Italian territories.
On July 19, Italy arrested three Egyptian men over suspicion of piloting a boat carrying more than 300 migrants to Italy from Egypt. On board of the boat, there was a 10-year-old Syrian girl whose father said she died during the sea crossing, according to Reuters.
Additional reporting by Gamal Abul el-Fad and Nasser Gouda