Premier Giorgia Meloni vowed to defend Italy’s borders from criminal gangs smuggling migrants and reaffirmed that only legal migrants would be allowed to enter the country.
Meloni made these comments following a police operation in Calabria that dismantled a transnational gang involved in smuggling migrants across the eastern Mediterranean and into France and northern Europe.
“It is an absolute priority to fight those who exploit the legitimate desire of people to find more favourable living conditions to fatten their profits,” Meloni said of the operation, which led to the arrest of 13 individuals. “The government is determined to dismantle these criminal networks and eradicate illegal human trafficking, which fuels the interests of the slave traders of the Third Millennium.”
She added, “Our commitment continues. We will keep working tirelessly to defend our borders and re-establish a fundamental principle: you can only enter Italy legally, following the rules and procedures established.”
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi also praised the operation, saying: “What was revealed by 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.”
He continued, “It also shows the importance of overcoming the sometimes ideological positions of those who continue to support indiscriminate reception, even when it ultimately benefits the shameful interests of criminal groups.”
