CAIRO - The Egyptian Embassy in Zambia has managed to effect the release of six Egyptian citizens from custody. They had been arrested while trying to slip across the border from Zambia into South Africa, having fallen prey to a gang of human smugglers, run by an Egyptian living in Zambia. Salah Eddin Abdel-Sadeq, Egypt's Ambassador to Lusaka, said in a press release recently that, after negotiations with the Zambian authorities, the latter agreed to release the Egyptians, considering them victims of the gang. They have also arrested the Egyptian gang leader, who had planned their illegal attempt to enter South Africa. The Ambassador added that the Embassy has persuaded the Zambian authorities to let the released Egyptians stay in the Egyptian Embassy, rather than prison, until their deportation to Egypt. Abdel-Sadeq stated that he is aware that young Egyptians want a better, more dignified life, pushing many of them to illegally immigrate, but they must realise the dangers involved. "All African countries are on the alert for people attempting to illegally cross their borders," he asserted. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Embassy in Beirut is arranging the deportation to Egypt of 15 Egyptian citizens, who were arrested on suspicion of entering Lebanon illegally via the Syrian border.
