Italian Prosecutor: Wiretaps Reveal NGOs Working With Human Smugglers to Flood Italy

MILAN (AP) -- An Italian prosecutor on Thursday defended his accusation that non-governmental organizations operating rescue boats in the Mediterranean are colluding with migrant smugglers after one humanitarian organization said the charge threatened its work and requested proof for the allegation.

Carmelo Zuccaro, chief prosecutor for the Sicilian city of Catania, told RAI state television that he believes that some NGOs working to rescue migrants just outside Libyan waters "could be financed by traffickers" and that their ultimate goal could be "to destabilize the Italian economy." He has cited wiretapped conversations.

In separate comments to the ANSA news agency, Zuccaro said he was identifying on a phenomenon, not individual organizations, in an attempt to prevent greater abuses. He said prosecutors would need investigative help to seek charges.

"It is my duty to denounce that there are people who are enriching themselves from immigration, with the resources destined for assistance that attract Mafiosi appetites," Zuccaro told ANSA.