Migrants attempting to reach Europe from Africa are being killed so their organs can be sold and used in illegal transplants, a former people smuggler has claimed.
Nouredin Atta, who was arrested in 2014, told Italian police that organs from African migrants in Libya are being sold for $15,000 (£11,400) in Egypt. The victims are migrants who cannot afford to pay for the last part of the journey, he claimed.
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Atta did not claim to have witnessed the murders himself, but The Times says others have made similar allegations before.
The newspaper says gruesome photographs circulating on social media allegedly show Somali migrants killed and left with horrendous wounds on a beach in Egypt.
Similar stories have been told about Bedouin tribesmen drugging migrants in the Sinai region, it adds. Egyptian doctors reportedly then remove their corneas, livers and kidneys and sell them to wealthy Arab clients.
Atta is the first foreigner to be given witness protection by Italian police for helping them with their inquiries. Information he provided led to 23 arrests yesterday in Rome, where €526,000 (£446,000) was seized from a perfume shop that had been acting as a front.
Atta came to Italy from Libya ten years ago and was granted asylum. He was considered a "professional" people smuggler by police after working with notorious Ethiopian trafficker Ermias Ghermay. Atta organised trips for migrants through Italy, using Italian drivers and putting them up in properties in Sicily and Rome, says the Times.
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