Police in Sicily said on Tuesday they had arrested an 18-year-old Sudanese man accused of abetting illegal immigration after a German NGO ship docked at the port of Pozzallo with 104 migrants on board.
The suspect was identified by police after they questioned a number of migrants who were rescued last week by the Eleonore. Police have confiscated the boat, which is operated by German charity Mission Lifeline, police said.
The European Union executive is in contact with EU states over the relocation of the migrants, deputy European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud told reporters in Brussels on Monday.
Under controversial new security legislation, NGOs whose rescue vessels enter Italian waters without permission face fines of up to a million euros and the seizure of the boat.
