Nineteen Sudanese nationals were detained by Kafr El-Sheikh border guards Sunday evening while allegedly attempting to board a ship to illegally immigrate to Italy.
According to state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram, the border guards interrogated the 19 nationals after they were detained. They confessed to having organised the trip through an unnamed 30 year-old, who has not been arrested.
The case was referred to the public prosecutor.
The Mediterranean Sea remains the world’s deadliest route for migrants, according to numbers of the International Organization for Migration.
Over 3,000 deaths have occurred in the Mediterranean between January and September 2014, more than ten times as many deaths as Eastern Africa or the US border with Mexico. Three quarters of this period’s total migrant deaths took place in the Mediterranean Sea.
Also on Sunday, Egyptian border guards foiled an attempt by 196 illegal immigrants to cross the Egyptian border with Libya.
The guards arrested the defendants who included people from 15 different governorates in Egypt, a Palestinian, and Sudanese citizens. They were caught attempting to get into Libya through desert routes near the western city of Salloum.
They will face military prosecution on charges of being in areas prohibited to civilians.
