The elements of the Maritime Police on a mission in Italy, within the scope of the “Themis” operation in the Central Mediterranean, in support of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) intercepted the vessel carrying 127 migrants, and "three suspicious individuals" were also identified as facilitating the passage of migrants to Italy”.

The statement from the National Maritime Authority (AMN) states that members of the Maritime Police's tactical action group intercepted the vessel, confirming the presence of several migrants on board, and accompanied it until the arrival of the Guardia di Finanza vessel to the port of Gallipoli, where the migrants disembarked.

The operation took place at 14:00 [13:00 in Lisbon] on Monday, following an alert through the International Coordination Center in Rome, reporting that a Guardia di Finanza aircraft had detected the presence of a vessel suspected of migration off Santa Maria di Leuca.