People smuggling

Human trafficking: Lone operators dominate people smuggling from Africa

Paolo Campana of Cambridge University’s Institute of Criminology, author of a study on the smuggling said:“the smuggling ring moving migrants from the Horn of Africa to Northern Europe via Libya does not appear to have the thread of any single organisation running through it. “This is a far cry from how Mafia-like organisations operate, and a major departure from media reports claiming that shadowy kingpins monopolise certain routes.” Many entrusted their lives to smugglers who charge exorbitant prices to help them reach Europe. The study examined the findings of an 18-month investigation by Italian prosecutors into the 2013 migrant shipwreck off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, in which more than 360 migrants died, most of them from Eritrea and Somalia. While conducting his research, Campana also analysed wiretapped telephone conversations, testimonies, interviews with police task force members, and smugglers’ backgrounds.