Five people have been arrested in connection with the migrant boat shipwreck on October 3rd, after 366 migrants died when the overcrowded boat sank. Italian police are still looking for a few others, including one man thought to be in Sweden, Italian media reported on Tuesday.
The man, along with the rest of the gang, is accused of not only planning the dangerous journeys but also of abusing migrants. Survivors of the October shipwreck have testified to rape and torture at the hands of the people-smugglers.
The group is thought by the anti-mafia authority (DDA) in Palermo to be part of a transnational criminal organization trafficking people across the Mediterranean, The Local Italy reported. The gang members are from Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.
Police were able to piece together the workings of the gang thanks to numerous searches in which they seized cash and money transfer documents.
Sweden's national police force were unable to confirm or deny the report when contacted by The Local on Tuesday afternoon.
This story originally published on The Local Italy. Read the full story here.
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