Somalis convicted of migrant smuggling

EU leaders decide to triple funding for maritime surveillance operations after shipwreck tragedy

A court in Sicily convicted on Monday 20 Somalis, who had received political asylum in Italy, of participating in a vast criminal organization focused on migrant-smuggling.

Prosecutors in Catania said the defendants were part of an international trafficking ring that demanded "large sums of money" from migrants from Kenya and Somalia to enter Italy. They then helped them continue their journey to destinations in northern Europe, especially Sweden.