Rome, June 22 (IANS) The recent murder in Italy’s Calabria has exposed the expanding influence of Pakistani criminal networks within one of the country’s most deep-rooted systems of labour exploitation.

At a petrol station in the southern Calabrian town of Amendolara on June 1, four migrant farm workers were allegedly locked inside a van before attackers poured a flammable liquid into the vehicle, set it on fire and blocked the doors to prevent occupants from escaping, a report has stated.

“Three Afghan men and one Pakistani man burnt to death. The sole survivor told investigators the victims had been working in strawberry fields without receiving any wages and that the attack was carried out by their own gangmasters after the workers demanded to be paid. Both men arrested were Pakistani nationals,” according to a report in the European news website ‘Euractiv’.

Following the incident, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that the gruesome murder of the four farmworkers had shocked the country.

“The horrific murder of the four farm labourers in Calabria has shocked us all. The news of the first arrests, made possible also thanks to the evidence promptly gathered by investigators through the video surveillance system of the area where the events took place, represents an important step toward ascertaining the truth and the responsibilities. My thoughts go to the victims and their families,” she posted on X.

“Pakistani organised crime operates mainly through fluid but very aggressive criminal groups, founded on family ties, clan bonds, and ethno-religious affiliations,” said Vincenzo Musacchio, Professor of strategies to combat transnational organised crime at Rutgers University in Newark, while speaking to Euractiv,

According to the report, the transnational nature of these networks makes them particularly difficult to dismantle. It added that their control often begins in Pakistani villages, where families incur debt to obtain visas or work permits, frequently through Italy’s decreto flussi scheme, which criminal intermediaries are known to exploit.

The report noted that migrants upon arriving in Italy often find themselves trapped in underpaid jobs, with relatives back home used as leverage to deter resistance.

Crucially, the report noted, this is not a case of one network replacing another, but rather a division of labour in which Italian mafias retain control over territory and finances while Pakistani networks provide the operational muscle.

“For Italian organised crime it is particularly convenient to delegate the dirty work to foreign networks,” said Musacchio, noting that linguistic and cultural barriers foster a functional silence that shields the entire chain of command.

–IANS

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