ROME: Italian customs said on Thursday they intercepted an Egyptian fishing boat carrying 88 migrants, presumed to be Egyptian nationals, off the southern coast of Sicily.
Two customs vessels, assisted by a plane, had tailed the boat which carried about a dozen crew, they said in a statement.
It was to be escorted to the port of Pozzallo in southern Calabria on the Italian mainland.
The statement said five similar interceptions since the start of the year had led to the arrest of 66 people for suspected people trafficking.
