Social Media Crackdown in Italy: Migrant Trips Offered on Different Platforms

Illustration (Photo: Priscilla du Preez / Unsplash)

In an effort to shut down the social media accounts of suspected Egyptian and Libyan traffickers who may be planning unauthorized border crossings, Palermo police conducted an operation.

Palermo police shut down more than a thousand social media sites and profiles in the last few days, claiming that these accounts and profiles facilitated illegal migration from the shores of North Africa to Italy, sometimes even providing family packages and reduced rates for women and children.

Italian news agency ANSA reported that on September 15 728 sites and profiles had been closed total, while others were in the process of being closed.

According to sources, suspected smugglers operating in Egypt and Libya—a nation where organizers oversee migrant voyages but from which no migrant ship departures are registered—used the social media profiles.

The massive social networking platform Meta worked with organizers to plan the operation to take down the pages.

In particular, Palermo police began keeping an eye on the social media pages and profiles used by people smugglers to advertise unauthorized travel from the coasts of Africa to Italy, working with the local investigative division of the central command SCO.

Palermo Flying Squad participated in the study, beginning with the operational model employed by criminal organizations involved in migrant trafficking, which makes use of social media platforms to advertise their illicit operations and fund illicit migrant transportation services.

Investigative sources explained that the investigation, which began in November of last year, made it possible to expand the scope of the investigation and gather data on the locations of migrant arrivals and departures as well as transportation-related specifics that were helpful in tracking the phenomenon and exchanging information with police in Libya and Tunisia.

The pages advertised excursions that could be paid for through money transfer networks and cost roughly 4600 euros per person. The sources said that prices varied depending on the package selected, including VIP trips.

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