Police arrest alleged trafficker, over 1,500 migrants arrive

(ANSA) - Ragusa, July 2 - Police arrested an alleged migrant trafficker who was at the helm of a dinghy carrying 111 people rescued in the Strait of Sicily on Thursday, when over 1,500 asylum seekers arrived in Italy.
    Mamadouo Lo, 26, from Senegal, was apprehended on arriving in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo.
    His arrest took to 67 the number of presumed traffickers arrested by local police since the start of this year.
    A man with a gunshot wound produced during an armed robbery a few days before departure was among the passengers.
    He was taken to hospital for treatment and recovery is expected to take 15 days.
    The migrants allegedly paid 500 dollars per person for the passage. Also on Thursday, 645 migrants reportedly from Syria, Nigeria, Sudan and Egypt arrived in the port of Palermo after being rescued in various operations off the coast of Libya. They included 90 women and 89 minors. Separately, 904 migrants including 147 women and 60 minors arrived in the port of Reggio Calabria on Thursday.
    Their condition was said to be good.