Egypt’s coastal guard caught 19 people as they attempted an illegal crossing to Italy from Glime beach, Alexandria.
A statement released by the Alexandrian security directorate said the migrants, a group of 4 men, 4 women and 11 children, have been transferred to Qism El-Raml police station.
During questioning, they said that 3 people had persuaded them to pay LE30,000 each in exchange for passage to Italy.
At the time the border guards caught them, they were waiting for the boat that would carry them to Italy.
Police detectives ordered the arrest of the people who assisted the migrants, calling for them to be brought before the law.
Egyptian illegal migrants pay tens of thousands of pounds, hoping that migration will give them a better chance in life, job opportunities in Europe and good living conditions.
Since the beginning of the Arab Spring, increasing amounts of Arab citizens have resorted to boarding inadequate boats to flee the instability prevailing in the region.
Reports of capsizing boats are published daily, and non-survivors of the dangerous Mediterranean crossing washing up on the north coast of Africa are hard to count as the vast north coasts of the African continent are not totally patrolled.
On Thursday, the bodies of at least 85 migrants who drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean were found washed up on beaches in western Libya near the city of Zuwara, the Red Crescent said.
