Current_Trends_and_Related_Challenges_web

Migrant Smuggling in Asia
of Iran. 240 The groups that recruit Afghan migrants
in refugee camps in Pakistan for smuggling are
said to be well established and operate by word of
mouth. 241 The persons involved in transporting and
accommodating migrants transiting in the Islamic
Republic of Iran do not appear to be part of any
formally organized smuggling network. According
to available information, these persons mostly
work individually or in loose communication with
other smugglers. 242 In Indonesia, local smugglers
are similarly only responsible for designated
tasks or for specific legs of a smuggling venture.
The captain and crew of a smuggling vessel that
takes migrants to Australia generally only interact
with the organizers in the short period in which
the vessel is organized and boarded and almost
never have a role in the organization, recruitment
or harbouring of smuggled migrants. 243
A UNODC 2012 publication revealed that the
networks involved in the smuggling of Pakistani
migrants are generally more sophisticated than
those involved in smuggling other nationalities.
These smuggling networks typically offer a range
of services rather than specialize in a specific route,
smuggling method or other service for smuggled
migrants. These networks also tend to be highly
professional and sometimes use legitimate
businesses, such as travel agencies or migration
agents, as a front for their smuggling operations. 244
It has also been reported that Kurdish smuggling
networks often spread across multiple countries,
with some smuggling organizers moving between
different transit and destination points. 245
The 2012 UNODC publication also explained
that smuggling networks may have contacts
with corrupt immigration and other government
officials as well as airline staff who are bribed to
‘turn a blind eye’ to, or otherwise assist, a migrant
smuggling venture. 246 A number of sources
highlighted, for example, the close cooperation
between migrant smuggling networks and corrupt
government officials in Indonesia. Local law
enforcement officials or officials at checkpoints
are bribed by smugglers to overlook the network’s
smuggling activities. In other cases, senior
government officials have been found to have
a greater degree of involvement in smuggling
networks, such as with transportation and/or
sharing in the profits. 247
2.8 Fees and financing
2.8.1 Fees
Both the reported and estimated fees paid by
smuggled migrants from South-West Asia vary
greatly. The fees paid by smuggled migrants are
determined by the length and duration of the
smuggling journey, difficulties and obstacles
encountered along the smuggling route, the
number of migrants smuggled together and the
means and methods used in the process, including
whether fraudulent travel or identity documents
are needed. Smuggling fees also depend on
whether they include a guarantee of successful
entry into the agreed destination country. In some
cases, migrants receive discounts if their family
has a connection to the smugglers. 248
The fees of Pakistani migrants are reported to
vary, depending on whether the fees are to be
paid upfront or in instalments. Smugglers ask
for higher fees if payments are to be made in
instalments because this represents a greater risk
of non-payment. 249 Each of these factors explain
the variation in smuggling fees, but the great
variation cited in some of the available literature
casts some doubt over the reliability of some
estimates.
Because the destination and method of smuggling
affect the fees paid by smuggled migrants, it is
often the case that migrants’ smuggling options
are limited by the resources available to them. For
example, migrants may be unable to afford more
sophisticated methods of smuggling, such as by
air and involving the use of fraudulent travel or
identity documents and thus may only be able to
afford less sophisticated methods of smuggling,
such as smuggling overland or by sea. 250
The fees paid by migrants from South-West Asia
for smuggling to Europe are highly variable. Most
estimates put the approximate fee for smuggling
from Afghanistan to destinations in Western
Europe between €2,000 and €20,000, with an
average of US$10,000. 251 In general, while there
are some variations in price between different
routes and smugglers, there is not a significant
difference between the fees paid for smuggling
overland and smuggling by air. As mentioned
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