'We'll defend borders, only enter legally' says Meloni

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 21 - The government will defend Italy's borders against criminal gangs bringing in migrants illegally and only legal migrants will enter Italy, Premier Giorgia Meloni said in commenting on a police operation in Calabria that smashed a transnational gang with cells abroad trafficking migrants across the eastern Mediterranean and on into France and other northern European countries.
    "It is an absolute priority to fight those who exploit the legitimate desire of people to find more favorable living conditions to fatten their profits", the premier said on the operation, in which 13 people were arrested.
    "The government is determined to dismantle these criminal networks and to eradicate illegal human trafficking, which fuels the interests of the slave traders of the Third Millennium.
    "Our commitment continues. We will continue to work tirelessly to defend our borders and to re-establish a fundamental principle: you can only enter Italy legally, following the rules and procedures established".
    Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi also commented on the op saying: "What was brought to light by the operation of the Guardia di Finanza, coordinated by the Catanzaro District Anti-Mafia Directorate, is further evidence that human trafficking is a plague of increasing spread that must be fought without delay or underestimation.
    "And it highlights how important it is to overcome the sometimes ideological positions of those who continue to support indiscriminate reception even when this ends up, in fact, favoring the shameful interests of criminal groups". (ANSA).