CAIRO: A total of 51 foreigners have been arrested in Kafr el-Sheikh governorate, northern Egypt, while attempting to illegally immigrate to Italy, Youm7 reported Sunday.
The arrested; 23 Sudanese, 14 Syrians and 14 Eritreans, were caught before they get into fishing boats in Borollos village. They said during investigations they paid sums of money to an agent called (Alaa. A) in Borollos to facilitate their travel.
Italian and Egyptian authorities have foiled many attempts of illegal immigration of asylum seekers, most of whom were Egyptian, Sudanese, Somali, and Syrian.
On June 19, some 47 people, Egyptian and foreign, were arrested in the Delta’s governorate of Beheira over similar circumstances.
On June 25, the Italian authorities deported 28 Egyptian illegal migrants after arresting them off the coast of Italy.
Coastguards occasionally foil the attempt of asylum seekers to reach Europe illegally, but border guards prevent dozens from reaching Libya illegally almost on weekly basis.
Additional reporting by Mohamed Soliman