Italian police arrested the Greek driver of a refrigerated truck after 84 Iraqi Kurds were discovered in the back of his vehicle aboard a ferry bound for Italy, a newspaper reported today.

Authorities at the Italian Adriatic port of Ancona blocked the would-be immigrants from disembarking shortly after their discovery by crew of the vessel, the Superfast III, on Sunday.

Three Iraqi Kurds were temporarily hospitalised with scabies, and were quickly returned to the vessel, the Corriere Adriatico reported.

The other immigrants were given medical checks aboard the ferry after being discovered aboard the refrigerated trailer hitched to the German-registered truck.

They said they had paid more than 1,000 euros ($A1,700) each to be smuggled into Italy.

Italy has extended greater stop and search powers to its navy. It is introducing a series of stringent laws in an attempt to stem the tide of illegal immigration.

These include a highly controversial bill that imposes prison sentences on immigrants who return to Italy after being expelled.

Italian authorities say 75,000 illegal immigrants were sent back last year.

Last year, 20,000 clandestine immigrants came ashore along Italy's thinly-protected 7,600-kilometre coastline. The trend has continued this year at the rate of hundreds a month. Many pay unscrupulous trafficking gangs to smuggle them in.

In a separate incident, police intercepted eight Albanian youths, aged 11 to 15, on a country road near the southern town of Matera, and launched in an investigation into possible trafficking in illegal workers, child sex and human organs.

Police said they arrested a 41-year-old man who was with the youths for suspected human trafficking.

They told police that they arrived in Italy by boat among a group of 40. Several of the boys were said to be unable to read or write and did not know their date of birth.

They were given dry clothes and food before being taken to a reception centre near Lecce.