Italy and Greece have brought prosecutions against alleged people smugglers.
On 14 August, the Greek Coast Guard said four minors, who said they were aged 14-17, were arrested on the southern island of Crete accused of piloting four small boats carrying a total of 229 migrants from Tubruq to Crete. All the suspects were from South Sudan. Another two men from South Sudan, aged 21 and 27, were arrested on suspicion of piloting two more boats with a total 132 people on board. All six faced criminal charges including exposing their passengers to danger and facilitating their illegal entry to Greece. The Greek Coast Guard also rescued several migrants who were intercepted in Greek territorial waters.
Italian police also reportedly detained three Egyptian nationals suspected of operating a migrant-smuggling boat carrying 57 migrants that departed from the Libyan coast toward Sicily.