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To: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck who wrote (20395)	9/8/2003 7:50:25 AM
From: lorne	Respond to of 23908

Italy Study Sees Al Qaeda Link to Human Trafficking Sun Sep 7,10:38 AM ET Add World - Reuters to My Yahoo! By Luke Baker story.news.yahoo.com ROME (Reuters) - Italy's secret services say they see increasing evidence militant groups such as al Qaeda are moving into the smuggling of illegal immigrants, a billion dollar trade they can use to fund other activities. An intelligence report released at the weekend says "terror networks" and groups who traffic in illegal immigrants share a natural overlap, often relying on false documents and intricate logistics, transport and communication setups. "There is the fear, too, that the same routes used for illegal immigration are being used by militants to help form Islamic terrorist groups," says the report, compiled by Cesis, which coordinates the work of Italy's secret services. The document comes just days before senior EU ministers are due to gather in Rome for an informal meeting to discuss immigration and terrorism-related issues. Italy's Interior minister, who held talks with U.S. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge at the weekend, told reporters ahead of that meeting that he thought al Qaeda was increasingly involved in the multibillion dollar illegal immigration trade. "Illegal immigration is a filter for drug trafficking, arms and terrorism," Giuseppe Pisanu said on the sidelines of a gathering of business and political leaders in Italy. "It is highly likely that al Qaeda has worked its way into the trafficking, managing the flow of illegal immigrants from Muslim countries. In such a way, al Qaeda can diversify its sources of funding and evade intelligence gatherers," he added. The Italian intelligence report gave no specific examples. The United States has taken vigorous measures to cut off the flow of funds to al Qaeda since the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. But intelligence analysts say the group is constantly looking for new sources and channels. LUCRATIVE BUSINESS While there has so far been little evidence to suggest that al Qaeda or other groups are involved in illegal immigration, the new secret services report will fuel concerns. Pisanu estimated that around 500,000 illegal immigrants make their way into Europe each year, paying on average $4,000 for their passage, giving the industry a rough turnover of at least two billion euros a year. Smuggling of people into Italy has traditionally been the work of gangs from eastern Europe, but in recent years the routes have shifted to North Africa, with Libya and Tunisia now the focus of Italian attempts to stem the tide of arrivals. With most illegal immigrants looking to make their way to France, Germany and Britain to seek work, tackling the flow has become a Europe-wide issue. The European Union (news - web sites) is seeking to forge a unified policy to confront the problem.