On Saturday, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced the defendant “Othman.M” to three years in prison on charges of smuggling migrants abroad illegally and fined him one million pounds.
According to the Public Prosecution’s investigations into Case No. 18318 of 2023 (Nozha Felonies), the defendant joined an organized terrorist group that specialized in smuggling migrants in exchange for money.
The defendant confessed to committing the crime immediately after his arrest, and after the prosecution’s investigations, he was imprisoned and referred to the Criminal Court, which issued its verdict today.
Last month, the same Egyptian court sentenced a gang of 9 to 10 years in prison and a fine of EGP 2 Mn for smuggling young people and children into Europe via Libya.
The court ruled to confiscate the seizures and oblige the gang to return 17 million and 200 thousand pounds, which is the value of the money they obtained from citizens.
Investigations into the case revealed that the gang, led by an accountant in a contracting company and his brother, who belongs to the Brotherhood, was active in several Egyptian governorates, using illegal methods to smuggle migrants by sea to Libya and from there to Italy.
The financial transfers received by the gang were monitored through various electronic applications, and the funds raised were estimated at more than EGP 17 million.
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