Swiss state prosecutors said Thursday they were investigating suspected war crimes through looting, in a probe into a network allegedly smuggling Libyan gasoil.

Brigade 444 of the Government of National Unity freed Sunday 195 people, including 23 women and two children, from the grip of a criminal gang in Bani Walid city in central Libya.

The Libyan Interior Minister, Khalid Mazen, called on all security apparatuses to double their efforts to exact security and dismantle criminal gangs for the safety of the people.

The Interior Ministry of the Libyan outgoing government said that the Sabratha Security Directorate transferred 40 people of different African nationalities to the Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency, after they were caught in a human smuggling den in the city during the last period.

The fighting detachments of the 444th Brigade announced yesterday that it is continuing its anti-fuel smuggling campaign on the edges of greater Tripoli.

The United States on Thursday returned a cache of smuggled ancient artifacts to Libya as the oil-rich Mediterranean country struggles to protect its heritage against the backdrop of years of war, turmoil and unrest.

The Western Border Region Investigations Bureau of the Criminal Investigation Agency has arrested a gang that had kidnapped a number of foreigners on the outskirts of Zuwara.

The Anti-Terrorism Force in Bani Walid has arrested one of the main suspects in the robbery of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) funds in Sirte in 2013, which was revealed by the “Al-Masafa Sefr” TV program on Al-Jazeera on Friday.

The Criminal Investigation Department has confirmed the arrest of a suspect accused of murdering 22 Bangladeshi workers after it said investigations led to his conviction for this crime.

A total of 1,300 Egyptians, who were kidnapped in Libya’s eastern city of Bi’r Al-Ashhab, were freed and immediately deported, the Ministry of Interior announced yesterday.