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MT 30 July 2017

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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 JULY 2017 7 News MATTHEW VELLA A Maltese expert on human smug- gling is hoping that the European Union's limits on the export of in- flatable boats to Libya, will make it harder for traffickers to send refu- gees and migrants to boats. The foreign ministers of the 28 member states have decided to re- strict the export and supply to Lib- ya of inflatable boats and motors, in a bid to make smugglers' lives and their businesses even more complicated. Mark Micallef, of the Global Ini- tiative Against Transnational Or- ganized Crime, says such restric- tions might just be one of several measures that can help rumble the businesses of traffickers. "More importantly than the rub- ber boats are the outboard engines, and the EU also needs to find a way to target PVC itself," Micallef said, referring to suggestions that some rubber boats might also be built in Libya. Smugglers in Libya have been using rubber dinghies which can be purchased on Alibaba.com, the world's largest online trading platform. The Chinese-made din- ghies – impertinently advertised as 'refugee boats' – can be bought for $300 and these are transhipped to Libya through Malta and Turkey. China is in fact the main source of rubber dinghy imports in Malta, whether for sale here or for transhipment through the Malta Freeport: between 2012 and 2016, a total cost value of €1.3 million was imported in rubber dinghies, a total of 5,092 pieces, working out at an average of €256 each. The standard cost of the Alibaba boats retail at between $300- $500. Smugglers pay for these 'refugee boats' by telegraphic transfer, a form of bank trans- fer or by simply using their credit cards. These are then shipped to Libya, mainly through Turkey and the Malta Freeport. However, the new EU rules al- low concessions for fishermen and others who have legitimate reasons to use the dinghies and motors. Malta was already on the radar as a transhipment node for rubber dinghies. In a leaked report pub- lished on Wikileaks, the head of EUNAVFOR MED, the operation targeting smuggling in Libya, re- marked how Maltese Customs au- thorities had stopped a container with a cargo of 20 packaged rub- ber boats similar to those used to carry people from Libya to Europe. "As there are no legal grounds for holding such shipments, it was re- leased for delivery to its destina- tion," the report said. Smugglers turned to the use of dinghies after the European naval operation Sophia started destroy- ing the wooden boats which gen- erally could carry up to 500 people. By June 2015, Operation Sophia had destroyed 452 wooden boats. This affected smugglers' profit margins, so the criminal organisa- tions turned to the cheaper rubber dinghies. But Sophia's actions were criti- cised in a recent inquiry by the UK's House of Lords, which insist- ed that the dinghies simply placed migrants and refugees on com- pletely unseaworthy boats "that have no prospect of ever reaching Italian shores, assuming they will be picked up near or within Libyan territorial waters" – making the journeys increasingly dangerous. The EU's plans to restrict Chi- nese inflatables will still not guar- antee that smugglers will not pro- cure them through another port like Turkey. Loopholes for fisher- men to acquire the boats can still lead to a black market. That would increase costs for smugglers, most probably leading them to cram more migrants on the dinghies to make up for the higher prices. "Just because there might be a di- version does not mean you should allow smugglers the logistical luxury of going through Europe- an territory," Mark Micallef says, however. "The revolution taking place in the smuggling industry in Libya is down to their greater logistical capability. The range of tools to attack human smuggling needs to include measures that undermine that logistical capacity. "Smugglers stopped obeying strict market principles when the militias got involved in the busi- ness. If they could put more people on the boats, they would have start- ed doing it already." Micallef says that right now, boats of 12 to 15 metres long are carrying up to 170 migrants on board. Some of them start taking in water almost immediately after departure. But the vicious circle of human trafficking has wider implications for Libya, Micallef says. "The fact that human smuggling's prolifera- tion is financing armed groups is furthering the destabilisation of the country. This, to my mind makes the fight against human smuggling networks an even more pressing strategic objective for the EU and North Africa." mvella@mediatoday.com.mt EU's rubber-boat ban could make smugglers' lives harder OPENING HOURS OF SCHOOL LIBRARIES DURING THE 'AQRA FIS-SAJF' CAMPAIGN 2017 FROM 08.30HRS TO 12.30HRS For further information please visit the Facebook page of 'Aqra fis-Sajf' or call 2598 2907. Valletta Primary (St Ġorġ Preca College) - Mondays & Wednesdays Siggiewi Primary (St Ignatius College) - Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays Fgura Primary A (St Thomas More College) - Mondays & Wednesdays Marsaxlokk Primary (St Thomas More College) - Mondays & Wednesdays San Ġwann Primary (St Clare College) - Tuesday & Thursdays Żurrieq Primary (St Benedict College) - Mondays & Tuesdays Bi Birgu Primary (St Margaret College) - Thursdays Victora Primary (Gozo College) - Tuesdays and Wednesdays Sannat Primary - Doris Vella Centre (Gozo College) - Tuesdays and Thursdays B'Kara Middle Schools (St Theresa College) - Wednesdays Blata l-Bajda Middle School (St. Ġorġ Preca College) - Mondays Ħamrun Ex Adelaide Cini (St Thomas More College) - Thursdays Ħanda Secondary School (St Ignatius College) - Mondays Imrieħel Secondary School (St Theresa College) - Wednesdays Kirkop Secondary School (St Benedict College) - Tuesdays & Thursdays Kirkop Middle School (St Benedict College) - Kirkop Middle School (St Benedict College) - Tuesdays & Thursdays Mosta Secondary School Żokrija (Maria Regina College) - Thursdays Mosta Secondary School (Maria Regina College) - Mondays & Thursdays Naxxar Middle School (Maria Regina College) - Tuesdays National Sport School, Pembroke (St Clare College) - Tuesdays & Thursdays Dingli Secondary School (St Nicholas College) - Wednesdays Rabat Middle School (St Nicholas College) - Mondays & Thursdays Rabat Middle School (Gozo College) - Rabat Middle School (Gozo College) - Wednesdays Rabat Secondary School (Gozo College) - Wednesdays St Aloysius College - Mondays & Wednesdays Sta Lucia Secondary School (St Thomas More College) - Tuesdays Verdala Senior School (St Margaret College) - Tuesdays Żejtun Secondary School (St Thomas More College) - Wednesdays COURT NOTICE The Registrar, Civil Courts and Tribunals notifies that the First Hall of the Civil Court ordered the sale by Judicial Auction of the following property to be held in the corridors of the Courts of Justice, Republic Street, Valletta. Date Time Judicial Sale No Property 24th August 2017 10.30am 50/15 - JGL HSBC Bank Malta plc. C-3177 vs Santa Lucia Properties Ltd. C-6109 Garage in semi-finished state unofficially Numbered 21 in Misraħ San Nikola, Żabbar valued at €64,000 31th August 2017 10.30am 48/16 - EM Galea Henry Et. ID 79464 M vs Bugeja Raymond Et. ID 310856 M Residential Property without official number unofficially marked with number 21A built on plot number 21 forming part of the lands known as Juno Heights,forming part of the same property building named Oceana, including the garage in the basement level and two other overlying tenements , with the other tenement unofficially marked 21B with a half of the undivided share of the common parts, common services and amenities including the lift shaft and lift for the common use in Triq il- Biżantini, Marsaxlokk. The tenement is valued at €835,000 Further details can be obtained from the website: http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/courtservices/JudicialSales/search.aspx The bidders taking part in the auction must present their identity card. Rudolph Marmara' For the Registrar of Civil Courts and Tribunals Move targets Malta as a transhipment node for Chinese rubber dinghies exported to Libya through Freeport New Assistant Editor for MaltaToday PAUL Cocks has been appointed assistant editor to MaltaToday ex- ecutive editor Matthew Vella. He also serves as editor of the Malta- Today Midweek (Wednesday edi- tion). Cocks, 40, joined MaltaToday in 2016 after spending years at The Times of Malta as a parliamen- tary correspondent and later ICT editor of the same newspaper. He served as news editor for Live FM, then one of Malta's top news and chat radios, before moving to the tabloid newspaper The People and The People on Sunday. "I am delighted to have Paul in this role at MaltaToday," Mat- thew Vella said. "As always, this is a challenging time for newspapers, but Paul is an indefatigable and hands-on journalist, who provides great support for the newsroom. Good team leaders are extremely important for a newspaper that cherishes its independence." 'Inflatable rescue refugee boat': Chinese company Dama Yacht (below) has since removed this advert on Alibaba.com, after marketing its inflatables for the express use of smuggling migrants

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