I am not migrant smuggling kingpin, says Eritrean extradited to Italy

The Eritrean man extradited to Italy as an alleged kingpin of a migrant smuggling ring has told authorities his arrest in Sudan was a case of mistaken identity and denied that calls from his phone to Libya were related to trafficking, his lawyer said.

"It is clear for him he is not the man who is smuggling or trafficking humans," Michele Calantropo said outside the Rome prison where the suspect was questioned by prosecutors from Sicily, leading Italy's anti-smuggling investigations in the presence of a judge.