Four migrant farm workers burned alive in Calabria after demanding unpaid wages; two Pakistani gangmasters arrested

The attack

Four migrant farm workers were burned alive on Monday evening in Amendolara, a village near Cosenza in the southern Italian region of Calabria. The victims — Pakistani national Waseem Khan, 29, and Afghan nationals Amin Fazal Khogjani, 28, Ullah Ismat Qiemi, 19, and Safi Iayjad, 27 — were returning from a day picking strawberries when their two Pakistani gangmasters stopped the minivan at a petrol station on the SS106 highway. Instead of refuelling, the men doused the vehicle with flammable liquid and set it alight while holding the doors shut.

Surveillance camera footage captured two people setting the car on fire and then running away. Investigators from the Cosenza mobile squad identified the suspects within hours and arrested them at their homes. The two men, Safeer Ahmed and Ali Raza, both 31, are in Italy on regular permits — one since 2018, the other since 2022. They face charges of multiple aggravated murder with premeditation.

The survivor's account

The only survivor, 35-year-old Afghan national Mohammad Taj Alamyar, described the attack to Italian media. "We started screaming, but they opened the back door and threw a lighter inside. In an instant, it was hell," he told La Repubblica. Alamyar forced open the rear hatch and escaped through the boot while one of the attackers tried to close it. He sustained burns to his hands and right arm but survived. He and another migrant, 27-year-old Afghan Azrat Helal Armani, have been placed under police protection and relocated from Villapiana, where the group lived.

When the flames and smoke filled the cabin, I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to die. I realised I had to try to get out. I started hitting the glass with my elbow. Then I saw the boot was open and I pushed my way through until I got out.

The wage dispute

Alamyar told Corriere della Sera that the five workers had rebelled because they had not been paid for over a month. They were promised €45 for an eight-hour day but had received no money since April 20. "That's why they set the car on fire — to punish us. They wanted to kill us all," he said. He described the perpetrators as "Pakistani mafiosi."

All four victims and the two suspects shared an apartment in Villapiana, in the province of Cosenza. The victims had arrived in Calabria after passing through Sardinia and all held valid residence permits. They worked as agricultural labourers for a company based in the neighbouring region of Basilicata.

The investigation

Castrovillari chief prosecutor Alessandro D'Alessio told reporters the crime was of "unprecedented gravity" and simply "inhuman." "In 30 years of work, I have never seen such cruelty," he said. The prosecutor confirmed that gangmastering — the illegal intermediation and exploitation of labour — is one line of inquiry, but not the only one. Investigators are also examining the possibility of a clash between groups of different nationalities for control of farm work in the Sibari plain and the Metapontino area.

Gangmastering is one of the leads, but not the only one.

Cosenza police chief Antonio Borelli called the event "an act of indescribable cruelty, an absolutely inhuman deed." He noted that identifying and arresting the suspects took just over three hours, thanks to video surveillance footage from the petrol station. The head of the Cosenza mobile squad, Gianni Albano, reconstructed the sequence: one suspect broke a door handle from inside to prevent it opening; the driver opened the bonnet; it remains unclear whether the petrol was already in the vehicle or taken from the station pump. The victims tried to escape through the front but could not. Investigators have found no evidence of additional accomplices and believe the murder was premeditated.

National reaction

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was shocked by the killings. "The horrific murder of the four farm workers in Calabria has shocked us all," she wrote on X. "Italy does not back down in the face of violence and barbarity: it is essential to shed full light on this terrible crime and bring all those responsible to justice."

Italy does not back down in the face of violence and barbarity.

Calabria's regional president Roberto Occhiuto said the episode "shakes our consciences and raises profound questions about the tragedy of migration, the value of human dignity, and the responsibilities a civilised society must assume toward the most vulnerable." Italy's largest trade union, CGIL, called the incident "indescribable" and urged the government to act against "the daily horrors that workers, often migrants, experience in our countryside."

Labour exploitation in Italian agriculture

The case has reignited debate over labour abuse in Italy's agricultural sector. According to the Placido Rizzotto Observatory, about 30% of farm workers were working off the books in 2023. Many migrants work without contracts and depend on employers for food and housing. The Meloni government previously increased farm inspections to combat criminal exploitation, but the problem persists. Labour migration expert Marco Omizzolo told NRC that various mafia branches are active in agriculture and agricultural trade, with farmers and employers colluding with people smugglers.

The two suspects are expected to appear for a guarantee hearing on Thursday before the Castrovillari prosecutor's office. Their lawyers, Giovanni Brandi Cordasco Salmena and Giulia Montilli, have indicated the men may exercise their right to remain silent while reviewing the case file.