![]() ![]() In many cases, migrants are mistreated during the smuggling process and the conditions that they are made to endure are severe. Refugees and asylum seekers, as well as vulnerable migrants such as unaccompanied minors and pregnant women, can be among those who pay a high price for smuggling services with no guarantee for their safety or the success of the venture. Many migrants are abused or die on the way to their destination, and many are abandoned en route without resources. This can include the lending of stolen passports with photos that resemble the migrants, the falsification of travel or identity documents or the obtaining of genuine passports or visas on the basis of fraudulent supporting documents.īecause these services are illegal, the criminals have tremendous power, while the migrants are left vulnerable. While these may include services such as transport, they may also consist of document fraud. Profit-seeking criminals exploit the lack of legal opportunities available to migrants and take advantage of their situation by offering services at great cost. This may be for themselves or for their families, and it may involve searching for work or escaping from poverty, natural disasters, violence, armed conflict or persecution. People move to other countries for many reasons, but for undocumented migrants it is nearly always for a better life. Since the smuggling of migrants is a highly profitable illicit activity with a relatively low risk of detection, it is attractive to criminals. Some criminal groups view migrants as simply one of many commodities to be smuggled, alongside drugs and firearms. Criminal groups have merged or formed cooperative relationships, expanding their geographical reach and the range of their criminal activities. As with other forms of organized crime, the groups concerned have increased their operations by shifting routes in a bid to expand into other markets and circumvent the responses of States. Smugglers of migrants are becoming more and more organized, establishing professional networks that transcend borders and encompass all regions. Corrupt officials and other individuals may also be involved in the process. There are also many smugglers who run legitimate businesses and are involved in the smuggling of migrants as opportunistic carriers or hospitality providers who choose to look the other way in order to make some extra money. There is evidence of both smaller and larger, more organized groups and networks operating as smugglers in all areas, although this varies by region and route. Full-time professional criminals are involved in smuggling migrants around the world some of those criminals are specialized in smuggling people, and some are not. The profiles of the smugglers vary widely. This crime is often perpetrated by organized criminal networks, which seize the opportunity to make large profits from an illicit activity involving little risk of detection. The smuggling of migrants is the facilitation of crossing borders illegally or residing illegally in another country with the aim of making a financial or other material profit. The global figure is likely to be much higher. ![]() Nevertheless, it is estimated that two of the principal smuggling routes - leading from East, North and West Africa to Europe and from South America to North America - generate about $6.75 billion a year for criminals. As the crime is a clandestine one, accurate global figures are difficult to come by. Their safety and even their lives are often put at risk: they may suffocate in containers, perish in deserts or drown at sea while being smuggled by profit-seeking criminals who treat them as goods. Smuggled migrants are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Smugglers take advantage of the large number of migrants willing to take risks in search of a better life when they cannot access legal channels of migration. Assessing the real size of this crime is a complex matter, owing to its underground nature and the difficulty of identifying when irregular migration is being facilitated by smugglers. Profit-seeking criminals smuggle migrants across borders and between continents. The smuggling of migrants is a truly global concern, with a large number of countries affected by it as origin, transit or destination points. ![]() ![]() Smuggling of migrants: the harsh search for a better life ![]()
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