di Salvatore Bonfiglio

On 6 May 2009,  to  35 nautical miles south of Lampedusa (Agrigento), that is, within the Maltese Search and Rescue Region of responsibility, migrants were intercepted by three ships by the Italian Revenue Police (Guardia di finanza) and the Coastguard. The occupants of the intercepted vessels were transferred onto Italian military ships and returned to Tripoli.