(VOVworld) – Italian Justice Minister Andrea Orlando told a Senate constitutional affairs committee hearing on Wednesday that Islamist terrorist organizations may be trafficking migrants across the Mediterranean to raise money for their extremist causes.

About 26,000 refugees from northern Africa disembarked in Italy in the first 4 months of 2015. (Photo: ANSA)

Orlando expressed his concerns that Islamist terrorists are likely to make great profits from their illegal activities and use the money to purchase weapons and train terrorists.

In the first four months of this year, more than 26,000 refugees from northern Africa have disembarked in Italy, 6.4% of them unaccompanied minors.

Orlando said the Italian government was worried that self-proclaimed IS followers could mingle with the streams of emigrants to conduct terrorist acts in Italy and other European countries.