The mafias who controlled the ship that sank off the coast of southern Greece have links to Khalifa Hafter, the warlord who controls eastern Libya. Some EU states – including Italy – want to “collaborate” with Hafter to curb immigration, according to an investigation conducted by EL PAÍS and Lighthouse Reports
On the night of June 9, 2023, there should have been no one on the streets of Tobruk, a coastal city in eastern Libya. A few days earlier, a curfew had been imposed, so that the authorities could launch an operation against criminal groups trafficking in people and drugs.
But that same night, a fishing boat called the Adriana set sail clandestinely from the beach, without being stopped. At least 750 men, women and children were packed on board. This is the ship that, five days later, on June 14, sank near the coastal town of Pylos, in Greek territorial waters, leaving only 104 survivors.
An EL PAÍS investigation in collaboration with Lighthouse Reports, Reporters United, Monitor, SIRAJ and Der Spiegel has identified the migrant smuggling network that organized the trip. Evidence has been found that closely links this mafia to Khalifa Hafter, the powerful warlord who dominates eastern Libya. Certain European states have also been involved in negotiations with Hafter to stop irregular immigration.
Days after the sinking of the Adriana, another EL PAÍS investigation – conducted in collaboration with the same partners – revealed the efforts of the Greek Coast Guard to hide the role that it played in the incident. The Greek Naval Court opened an investigation to determine the possible responsibility of the Coast Guard, but so far, no action has been taken against those involved. In fact, the only arrests to date are of nine Egyptian men in a separate investigation of the human smuggling ring that organized this deadly journey. Those arrested are accused of six crimes, including illegal trafficking of foreigners, belonging to a criminal organization and reckless homicide due to negligence. They are currently in pretrial detention.
The Greek Ministry of Maritime Affairs has not responded to this newspaper’s questions about the case. The ministry’s press office has only said that there’s “a strictly confidential criminal investigation” taking place, “in accordance with the guidelines of the Supreme Civil and Criminal Court.”
However, the sources and documents that EL PAÍS and Lighthouse Reports have had access to reveal that the Adriana’s journey isn’t an isolated event. Rather, it’s merely one incident within the flourishing criminal activity of migrant smuggling that originates from the eastern coast of Libya. Those responsible for the smuggling are under the protection of the Hafter family.
Up to 17 survivors of the shipwreck have given their testimony. Several of them have provided the names of the traffickers involved in organizing the trip from Tobruk. Of the mobsters mentioned, none sailed with them on the ship. Some were originally from eastern Libya and have ties to the naval forces in that area of the country.
Among the names of the criminals, one was mentioned more than the rest: Muhammad Saad Al-Kahshi Al-Mnfi. Up to three different sources identify him as an essential figure in the human trafficking operation: a survivor, a lower-ranking trafficker and another source with inside information. “He’s the one who issued the license that allowed the boat to navigate Libyan waters,” says the survivor of the shipwreck, who asked to remain anonymous.
Al-Kahshi works for a special naval unit known as the “frogmen.” The unit is led by Bahar Al-Tawati Al-Mnfi, one of his relatives. He, in turn, is under the direct orders of Khalifa Hafter, according to the source. This witness also explains that all the boat trips take place “under the supervision of Saddam Hafter, the son of Khalifa Hafter.” The importance of the frogmen is that no ship can enter or leave Libyan beaches and ports without the approval of this unit. “Either Saddam himself leads the operation, or he assigns it to one of the frogmen battalions,” the source explains. The Libyan Coast Guard receives money in exchange for turning off the radar systems that detect the movement of ships, thus facilitating the exit of clandestine vessels.
“The ship that sank in Greece set sail from Egypt, crossed Libyan territorial waters to Tobruk and set sail again from that Libyan city. These kinds of things are only possible if the Hafter-controlled [Libyan Navy] agrees,” emphasizes Jalel Harchaoui, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a UK-based security think tank.
Five survivors of the shipwreck – who flew from Syria to Libya to board the fishing boat in Tobruk – have described how easy it was for them to get out of the military airfield in Benghazi, the main city in eastern Libya, thanks to the help of commanding officers. “At the airport, a person took my passport, went to the immigration office, put a stamp on it and took us outside,” one of the survivors recalls. On the night of the Adriana’s departure – amidst a curfew – other survivors say that they, along with hundreds of other passengers, were taken without incident to a small bay near Wadi Arzouka, east of Tobruk. From there, they boarded the fishing boat.
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