Current_Trends_and_Related_Challenges_web

Migrant Smuggling in Asia
their smugglers. In other cases, the smugglers
sold migrants to Kurdish criminal groups operating
in the border region who extorted them for
money. In some extreme cases, migrants were
tortured to force their family members to pay
additional sums of money. 207 Smuggled migrants
in Indonesia are reported to have similarly been
subjected to deception and physical abuse by
their smugglers. 208
Smuggled migrants can be subject to extortion
and debt bondage if they do not have or earn
enough money to repay a debt owed to those who
financed their journey. 209 Research also points
out that unaccompanied minors are particularly
vulnerable to deception and exploitation by
their smugglers and other criminals. 210 There are
reports of South-West Asian migrants who were
smuggled to Europe and became caught up in
turf wars and other violent altercations between
competing smuggling groups. 211
2.6 Profile of migrant smugglers
In almost all cases, the smugglers involved in the
smuggling of Afghan, Iranian, Iraqi and Pakistani
nationals are adult males. 212 A 2013 report noted
that women are sometimes used to help smuggle
migrants from South-West Asia to Australia or
Canada, accompanying and guiding them in return
for payment of additional fees. This appears to
be more common in relation to the smuggling of
migrants by air. Women are used because they
are perceived as less likely to draw attention from
authorities. 213
There is evidence that many smugglers with a
degree of seniority and oversight over operations
are of the same nationality as the migrants they
assist. 214 In particular, there appears to be a
considerable degree of involvement of Pakistani
nationals in the smuggling of compatriots in
source, transit and destination countries. There
are also close ties between recruiters, facilitators
and other agents operating in countries of origin,
such as Pakistan, and the communities from
which smuggled migrants originate. 215 In other
cases, connections between compatriots appear
to transcend ethnic background and regional
differences within source countries. 216 In Europe,
Afghan migrants are often smuggled by other
Afghans, and the same appears true with Pakistani
nationals, according to reports from national
authorities in Germany, Lithuania, the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Norway. 217
Migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Islamic
Republic of Iran and Iraq are often smuggled
alongside each other, which means they may also
be smuggled by nationals from other South-West
Asian countries. 218 Afghan migrants, for instance,
are frequently smuggled by Pakistani nationals. 219
While some Kurdish smugglers seem to be
specialized only in the smuggling of other Iraqis,
including Iraqi Kurds, Kurdish smuggling networks
appear to be also involved in the smuggling of
migrants from other countries in South-West
Asia. 220
Local smugglers in transit and destination points
are usually nationals of that country. For example,
local Iranians offer collateral services to smuggled
migrants travelling through the country, such as
accommodation, transportation from Tehran to
the Turkish border or, in some cases, transportation
or guidance across the border into Turkey. 221 The
smuggling of Pakistani migrants from Turkey into
Greece is mostly carried out by Turkish or Greek
nationals. 222 According to Hungarian, Serbian and
Slovak authorities, local individuals and groups
are typically involved in the smuggling of Afghan
and Pakistani migrants through these countries. 223
Those involved in the smuggling of Afghan migrants
into Romania are mostly Romanian nationals; the
same appears to be the case in the neighbouring
countries of Bulgaria, Hungary or Slovakia. 224
According to Turkish authorities, smugglers from
Afghanistan, Georgia, the Islamic Republic of
Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, Pakistan, Romania, Russia,
Syria and Turkey are involved in the smuggling
of Afghan migrants through Turkey. 225 According
to Austrian authorities, most smugglers detected
in Austria who were engaged in the smuggling of
Afghan and Pakistani nationals were from Austria,
Germany, Hungary or Turkey. 226 British and Belgian
authorities singled out Iraqi Kurds as responsible
for the smuggling of migrants from Afghanistan
and Pakistan to the United Kingdom through
France and/or Belgium. 227 Local individuals
and groups along smuggling routes also may
be involved in the production, procurement
and provision of fraudulent travel or identity
documents for migrants. 228
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