A hearing held in Crotone, Calabria on February 13, as part of the ongoing trial of three defendants in connection with the tragic ship sinking off the coast of Cutolo in February, asked migrants to travel The main focus was a WhatsApp voice message requesting payment. 2023.
A series of audio messages from the platform WhatsApp were heard this week in the ongoing trial of three defendants suspected of being involved in a shipwreck off the coast of the Italian town of Cutolo that killed at least 94 people last year.
As soon as the boat arrived in Italian waters, the suspected smugglers sent a voice message to the passengers of the hapless boat asking them to pay around 8,000 euros for the trip, according to the phone of one of the three defendants. A series of WhatsApp messages discovered suggested. .
The series of messages was at the center of a February 13 hearing held at a court in Crotone in connection with the shipwreck on February 26 last year. At least 94 people were killed and an unspecified number of passengers were left missing after a wooden boat sank in rough seas near the small seaside town of Steccato di Cutro in southern Italy’s Calabria region.
Chat with a suspected trafficker
The names of the defendants revealed in the Italian press include Sami F., a 50-year-old Turkish national, and two Pakistani nationals, Khalid A., 25, and Ishak H., 22. It consists of names. All have been charged with wrecking the ship. Aiding and abetting illegal immigration and manslaughter in connection with another crime. Another suspected human trafficker, a 29-year-old Turkish man, was sentenced last week to 20 years in prison and a €3 million fine.
Deputy Police Commissioner Carlo D’Angelo testified at the hearing and examined a series of WhatsApp audio messages sent by Ishaq H. and co-accused human trafficker Khalid between February 1 and February 26. As a result, investigators described what they believe happened between the suspected trafficker and the passenger. Mr. A and others.
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D’Angelo said the messages revealed that “Ishaq H. was responsible for managing and organizing Pakistani migrants in safe housing.”
Ishaq H. is a “Pakistani contact person who confirmed in his messages with the traffickers that the migrants had paid before leaving the country. In one of them.” [messages]the trafficker can be heard saying, “I have to tell Khalid A to ask his relatives to unlock the money.”
“The message was sent when it reached Italian waters,” he continued.
More traffickers being investigated as a result of evidence
In many of the messages reviewed by investigators, the defendants “named traffickers, people who were being investigated in an ongoing investigation,” D’Angelo explained.
At that point, prosecutor Pasquale Festa intervened to prevent the officers from revealing any more about the investigation while he was on the witness stand.
D’Angelo said some of the voice messages were sent by passengers on the boat, who likely used their phones to reassure relatives upon arrival in Italian waters. In the message, “they said, ‘We have arrived, God loves us,'” the officer explained.
Also read: 28 of the Cutolo victims are minors.
Mr. D’Angelo also added that a search of his mobile phone revealed that the trip from Turkey to Europe was codenamed “Game” and that the ticket price was approximately 8,000 euros.
Defense attorney questions police procedures
Salvatore Perry, a lawyer for the two Pakistani defendants, asked witnesses to explain the translation, the identity of the mediator who translated the voice message (he could not be traced) and whether acoustic tests were conducted. Ta. whether the audio in the message is that of the defendant;
The witness said he was just looking at the audio messages and putting the story together. Mr Perry noted that the defendant was living with other Pakistanis in Turkey at the time and that he was using a mobile phone.
Sami F.’s attorney, Teresa Palladini, asked if the messages spoke about her client. She replied that D’Angelo wasn’t like that.