Two suspected Ukrainian smugglers were arrested and charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigration by the Olbia Coast Guard and the Nuoro Mobile Squad, following the disembarkation of 26 migrants late yesterday evening at the Piscine di Venere, in the Baunei area.
The alarm was raised around 10:30 PM, when reports indicated the presence of people who had disembarked in one of the most inaccessible coves on the eastern coast of Sardinia. The Olbia Port Authority, which was monitoring the area with a patrol boat, intervened, recovering the migrants and transporting them to the port of Cala Gonone, where they arrived around 1:30 AM.
Among the 26 people who disembarked, all of Iraqi-Kurdish origin and in possession of documents, two health cases were reported: a woman suffered a back injury and was taken to the hospital along with her 4-year-old daughter. The others underwent the usual medical examination and were fed by Civil Protection and Blue Cross volunteers.
At 5 a.m., all the migrants were transferred by bus to the Prefecture, where they were then welcomed into the first reception center in Monastir.
The vessel used for the journey, a sailboat about 10 meters long and flying the Swedish flag, was seized. Equipped with a small engine, the vessel was loaded with empty water bottles and gasoline cans, presumably for the crossing.
Two Ukrainian men on board were identified and believed to be responsible for the clandestine transport. The two were taken last night to the Siniscola police station for identification and questioning.
The operation was carried out in collaboration between the Olbia Port Authority and the Nuoro Flying Squad, which is now conducting investigations alongside the judicial authorities to clarify the organization behind the journey and verify any connections with other migration routes.
"It's now clear," declared Dorgali Mayor Angela Testone, "that there is an active trafficking network in our area, as we have long feared. We are in constant contact with the Olbia Maritime Command, which is monitoring the situation closely."
Investigations are continuing to reconstruct the entire network behind this latest episode of irregular migration, which, once again, landed in one of Sardinia's most picturesque yet most exposed locations.
