A 46-year-old Algerian man has been jailed for 18 months after being found guilty of human traffic. Khaled Masoud Loulad was found guilty of managing a boat laden with 15 illegal immigrants to Malta. A 27-year-old Sudanese man who also captained the boat was acquitted of human traffic charges.
Taking the witness stand, Police Inspector Sandro Zarb stated that Khaled Masoud Loulad and the Sudanese man Magid Farah Abdelmagid Abduldaim confirmed their involvement in the trip in a statement they gave to Police.
Two of the illegal immigrants aboard the boat also took the witness stand, stating that the Sudanese man was only a passenger in the boat and took over captaining duties when Khaled Masoud Loulad tired.
Another illegal immigrant testified that he paid a Libyan man approximately Lm 342 (€795, US$1,000) for the trip which was supposed to take him from Libya to Italy. Magid Farah Abdelmagid Abduldaim also stated that he made his payment to a Libyan man. However, another illegal immigrant said that he paid the Algerian man for the voyage.
In its sentence the Court said that it is evident that the Sudanese man took over the captaining duties of the boat out of necessity because Khaled Masoud Loulad grew tired. The court also agreed with the possibility that Khaled Masoud Loulad had been commissioned to carry out the voyage by a Libyan person. The court concluded by saying that the involvement of the Algerian man could not be compared to that of the Sudanese citizen.
The Court was presided over by Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera.
The Prosecution was led by Police Inspector Sandro Zarb.
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