A mother ship of smugglers caught in the act off Lampedusa (V3)

(B2) This is a rather rare image that the European authorities have just released. It attests that the arrival of migrants or refugees on European shores is the work of well-organized bands

The mothership system

In addition to the departure of inflatable boats (often of poor quality) from Libyan beaches, some traffickers resort to more refined techniques: a mother ship tows one or more ships or boats in high water before cutting the cord at a reasonable distance from the coast (Italian or Maltese), letting their 'customers' sail to their final destination. This journey is more expensive and safer for migrants. For traffickers, it is more lucrative. And it's hard to catch them in the act... except by air.

The unstoppable airway detection mode

Experts from the European Border Guard Corps (Frontex) had their noses sharp when they detected a fishing boat towing a small, empty rigid-hulled raft. Bizarre in the open sea. They decided to track him for several hours, using a plane and a drone. Moments later, bingo! The proof of activity becomes irrefutable. The video below (shot from the air) shows it:

On the images, we see people getting out of the boat one by one, some with life jackets, and getting on, or rather piling up on the raft. When the tank is full (81 in all), the mother ship puts the gas back on, full power, to get as far away as possible from the raft which will then have to reach, alone, the Italian coast of Lampedusa.

The alert is given to Rome and Malta, as well as to Operation Sophia HQ (EUNAVFOR Med). There Finance Guard and Guardia di costiera (the Italian Coast Guard) are mobilized in search of the two ships. The mother ship is finally intercepted in international waters. The alleged smugglers — six Egyptians and a Tunisian — were arrested and disembarked in Licata (Sicily), escorted by the Italian financial police, this morning (June 22) at dawn. The mother ship is seized. As for the canoe full of migrants, it was intercepted in Italian waters. On board the Bengalis, Libyans and Moroccans according to the Frontex agency.

Comments : this use of mother ships in the Mediterranean is nothing new. Already at the end of 2013, the Italian forces had, with supporting evidence, demonstrated this technique to the Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs, in order to raise their awareness of the problem (read: The Somali technique: the evidence). Often works of Egyptian or Tunisian networks, sometimes linked with Italian mafia networks.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

Updated: with a context comment (22.6), the origin of migrants (24.6)