ITALY: Terror Ships
11 minutes, 2004
Ref: 543

US Naval Intelligence and Italian anti-terrorist police have uncovered what they say was a plot to smuggle 15 al-Qaeda terrorists from Pakistan into Europe aboard a rusty freighter.  They were travelling on false passports, with forged seamen’s documents and – according to the security agencies – were in possession of known al-Qaeda codewords, telephone contacts across Europe and access to unlimited funds. 

Insight News Television picks up the trail of the 15 Pakistanis in Sicily –  they’re now in jail alongside top mafiosi.  We follow the leads from Caltanisetta to Constanza, the Romanian Black Sea port where the people-smuggling operation was allegedly masterminded. On the way, we uncover a murky story of subterfuge and deception and offer a unique glimpse behind the veil of corporate secrecy which shipping regulators are now urgently seeking to lift.