Source:
Malta IndependentSunday, December 07, 2008
Costa Rican police uncover Malta-US African migrant route
by DAVID LINDSAY
African migrants let out of detention in Malta have left the country and have ended up as far away as South America in an attempt to illegally gain entry to the United States, an investigation carried out by the Costa Rican immigration police has revealed.
Costa Rican authorities have uncovered what they say is a network trafficking African migrants from Europe to the United States, using Latin America as a bridge.
As a result of the investigation, the Costa Rican authorities this year deported 25 Eritreans, four of whom were apprehended just two weeks ago while posing as tourists near the Costa Rican-Nicaraguan border.
Investigations carried out by the Costa Rican authorities, a Costa Rican police statement said this week, have identified a route by which Africans leave from Malta, travel to Venezuela and make their way overland through Panama, Costa Rica, the rest of Central America and Mexico – from where they attempt to move enter the United States.
Another route identified by the Costa Rican police sees African migrants illegally obtaining travel papers in Italy, travelling on to Spain and then to Costa Rica, Mexico and finally their intended destination – the United States, after facing the daunting and dicey US-Mexico border.
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http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=79562