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".
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