The two men, identified by the Italian Carabinieri (military police) as Tony Gauci, 48, and Emanuel Seychell, 37, have been charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigration into Italy.

They are being kept at the Modica prison and are expected to be arraigned in court shortly.

Around e1,000 and Lm2,000 in cash were found by the Carabinieri in the boat allegedly used to make the trip from Malta to Pozzallo. The Carabinieri suspect this was the money the illegal immigrants paid to make the journey on board the Adelina, which was seized by the Modica Courts.

The illegal immigrants were spotted next to the boat in the port area of Pozzallo by the port authorities, who alerted the Carabinieri on patrol at the time.

On spotting the Carabinieri, one of the illegal immigrants tried to escape, but was caught immediately. The illegal immigrants and the two Maltese men were taken to the police station.

Following investigations the Carabinieri ascertained that the four illegal immigrants had been ferried to Pozzallo from Malta on a boat piloted by the two Maltese men after each one had given them a substantial amount of money.

Later, speaking through an interpreter, one of the illegal immigrants confirmed that he had paid a considerable sum of Maltese liri for the trip to Sicily.

On 8 August 2001, a certain Anthony Gauci of Attard and four other persons were arraigned in court and charged with organising illegal human trafficking from Malta to Sicily.

They were Carmelo Butler of St Paul’s Bay, Mahmoud Abdalla Farag of Egypt, Hayat Attard of Tunisia residing in St Paul’s Bay, and Fatiha Khallouf of Morocco residing in Msida.

All five pleaded not guilty. The court, presided over by Magistrate Antonio Mizzi, denied bail to the accused since there was a serious risk that they would abscond.

On 10 August 2001, three Tunisian immigrants told the court they paid $600 each to make the trip to Italy. Attard and the five other accused were granted bail against a personal guarantee of Lm5,000 each.

On 29 July 2002, all the people charged were acquitted by the court since the elements of the crime they had committed amounted to conspiracy not complicity.

Conspiracy was not considered an offence in the Immigration Act at the time the crime was committed, and the court, although the evidence suggested otherwise, was constrained to acquit the accused.

Butler, one of the co-accused in that case, has a string of cases related to human trafficking. In May 2004 he was arrested in the United Kingdom following an international arrest warrant issued by the Ragusa Courts in connection with the landing of illegal immigrants on the coast of Ragusa on 4 and 10 July 2001.

In the first landing, a 48-year-old Tunisian man, Habib Tabbakh, was found dead on the shore the following morning. In the second landing, another four Tunisians were found dead on the same shores.

The two men, identified by the Italian Carabinieri (military police) as Tony Gauci, 48, and Emanuel Seychell, 37, have been charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigration into Italy.

They are being kept at the Modica prison and are expected to be arraigned in court shortly.

Around e1,000 and Lm2,000 in cash were found by the Carabinieri in the boat allegedly used to make the trip from Malta to Pozzallo. The Carabinieri suspect this was the money the illegal immigrants paid to make the journey on board the Adelina, which was seized by the Modica Courts.

The illegal immigrants were spotted next to the boat in the port area of Pozzallo by the port authorities, who alerted the Carabinieri on patrol at the time.

On spotting the Carabinieri, one of the illegal immigrants tried to escape, but was caught immediately. The illegal immigrants and the two Maltese men were taken to the police station.

Following investigations the Carabinieri ascertained that the four illegal immigrants had been ferried to Pozzallo from Malta on a boat piloted by the two Maltese men after each one had given them a substantial amount of money.

Later, speaking through an interpreter, one of the illegal immigrants confirmed that he had paid a considerable sum of Maltese liri for the trip to Sicily.

On 8 August 2001, a certain Anthony Gauci of Attard and four other persons were arraigned in court and charged with organising illegal human trafficking from Malta to Sicily.

They were Carmelo Butler of St Paul’s Bay, Mahmoud Abdalla Farag of Egypt, Hayat Attard of Tunisia residing in St Paul’s Bay, and Fatiha Khallouf of Morocco residing in Msida.

All five pleaded not guilty. The court, presided over by Magistrate Antonio Mizzi, denied bail to the accused since there was a serious risk that they would abscond.

On 10 August 2001, three Tunisian immigrants told the court they paid $600 each to make the trip to Italy. Attard and the five other accused were granted bail against a personal guarantee of Lm5,000 each.

On 29 July 2002, all the people charged were acquitted by the court since the elements of the crime they had committed amounted to conspiracy not complicity.

Conspiracy was not considered an offence in the Immigration Act at the time the crime was committed, and the court, although the evidence suggested otherwise, was constrained to acquit the accused.

Butler, one of the co-accused in that case, has a string of cases related to human trafficking. In May 2004 he was arrested in the United Kingdom following an international arrest warrant issued by the Ragusa Courts in connection with the landing of illegal immigrants on the coast of Ragusa on 4 and 10 July 2001.

In the first landing, a 48-year-old Tunisian man, Habib Tabbakh, was found dead on the shore the following morning. In the second landing, another four Tunisians were found dead on the same shores.