On 18 March, the Sabratha Security Directorate, in coordination with the Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency, successfully carried out an operation to transfer a group of illegal immigrants of various nationalities from Sabratha to a shelter in Tripoli. On the same day, the Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency reported the deportation of Nigerian nationals, 160 women and 17 children, who were residing in the country without proper documentation, as part of its ongoing efforts to address illegal immigration. The Agency announced that several more repatriation flights for Bangladeshi, Gambian and Malian migrants were scheduled to depart this week from Tripoli-Mitiga and Benghazi-Benina.
On 20 March, Libyan authorities deported 191 irregular migrants from Benghazi-Benina International Airport, with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Most of the deported individuals were Bangladeshi nationals (161). On the same day, the Desert Patrols Office of the Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency in the eastern Jabal al-Akhdar mountains detained 143 migrants as part of a Ramadan security plan. The detainees included 77 Egyptians, 26 Sudanese, 13 Syrians, 18 Chadians, and 9 Bangladeshis. The migrants were transferred to Al Bayda for legal proceedings.
On 21 March, the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) Stability Support Agency (SSA) claimed to have ‘dismantled’ an international criminal network organizing illegal migration through Libya to Europe. The network recruited migrants through offices in Bangladesh who flown to Benghazi’s Benina International Airport, then transported to western Libya, where plans were made for their embarkation to Europe. Three suspects, including two Bangladeshi nationals, were arrested. Under interrogation, they admitted to arranging the transport of 17 Bangladeshi migrants to Zuwarah, where they were to meet a Libyan trafficker for their Mediterranean crossing. Legal action has been taken and investigations are ongoing. On 22 March, Border Guards of the al-Qaryah sector detained 44 black African migrants from various countries in the al-Hamada al-Hamra desert.