An unexpected discovery occurred this morning at the port of Salerno, where eight people were found inside a container. Authorities have identified the individuals as suspected irregular migrants.
The individuals were immediately transferred to the Ruggi d'Aragona hospital for necessary treatment. Local authorities are now investigating the incident to clarify how the migrants arrived inside the container and to ensure their safety.
They had hidden inside semi-trailers on board a motor vessel coming from Tunis and headed to Salerno. Police operation at the port of Palermo, which identified and rejected eight illegal non-EU citizens at the border. The discovery was made during a check of passengers, vehicles and commercial vehicles just disembarked. The personnel of the maritime border police of the Palermo port were in action, together with their colleagues from the Digos of the Police Headquarters.
During inspections aboard the motor vessel "Catania," carrying 903 passengers and 236 vehicles, the Police Headquarters explained, eight illegal immigrants, presumably Tunisian nationals, were identified who had hidden inside two separate heavy vehicles, one of which was loaded with ferrous material.
The eight had hidden inside the semi-trailers which, although intact at the rear, where the customs seals had been affixed before loading, were however damaged on the upper part with evident cuts in the tarpaulin, enough to arouse the suspicion of the police.
Once disembarked, the vehicles were subjected to a thorough inspection, during which the non-EU citizens were found hidden behind some metal panels that allowed them to hide and escape an initial visual check.
"During the continuation of the operations," the Police Headquarters reported, "metal tools such as chisels, hammers, drills, and saws were found inside a refrigerated semi-trailer, evidently used by illegal immigrants to force their way into the bodies of commercial vehicles while at sea and gain entry to evade police checks."
The non-EU citizens, all males between the ages of 18 and 40, without identification documents, were rejected at the border after the usual formalities and handed over to the ship's security to be taken back to their country of origin.
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Comments (1)
It's strange how these migrants managed to enter a container without being noticed, perhaps there are problems with security controls at the port. I hope this situation will be clarified.