Lebanon’s state security smashed a five-member migrant smuggling gang in the seaside city of Dbayeh on Thursday, according to the local news website Elnashra.

According to Elnashra, the five suspects, three Syrians and two Lebanese, acknowledged building a boat to facilitate the illegal immigration of hundreds of individuals to Italy by water.

The suspects have been transferred to court agencies for additional questioning, and state security has recovered the boat.

The arrest, according to security authorities, is part of a state-led operation to curb illegal immigration, which has put migrants’ lives at risk by using dangerous boats.

A boat carrying more than 80 Lebanese and Syrian refugees drowned off the shore of the northern city of Tripoli more than a month ago, with just 45 of them recovered.

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