Current_Trends_and_Related_Challenges_web

Migrant Smuggling in Asia
and the ease of migration between West African
States, along with corruption and the existence
of established smuggling networks operating in
this region, explain the circuitous routes used to
smuggle migrants. 118 The first leg of this journey
is usually done by air, and then from West Africa
smuggled migrants continue overland and, lastly,
by boat to Southern Europe. 119
Some smuggled migrants from India bypass
Eastern and Western Africa by flying directly from
India via a Gulf State to Algeria before crossing the
border into Morocco by car and then continuing
to the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta or Melilla on the
coast of North Africa. 120 In other cases, Bangladeshi
nationals were smuggled to Egypt and then
crossed into Libya to join a migrant smuggling
vessel bound for southern Italy or Malta. 121
Smuggling by air to Western Europe
South Asian migrants, Indian and Sri Lankan
nationals in particular, are frequently smuggled
to Europe directly by air, sometimes involving
transfers at major airports in the Gulf region.
Some sources suggest that this has become the
most common way of smuggling, despite the
additional costs and the need for fraudulent travel
and identity documents. 122
Sri Lankan migrants usually board flights in
Colombo or in Chennai, India, and travel via a Gulf
State to a major airport in Europe. 123 Sri Lankan
nationals of Sinhalese background typically depart
from Colombo by air, while Tamil migrants initially
travel to Chennai, India, then acquire high-quality
fraudulent documents to continue on to Europe. 124
Some smuggled migrants try to avoid the costs
and efforts involved in obtaining high-quality
fraudulent documents by travelling via one or
more transit points in which immigration and
border controls are less rigorous. This usually
involves countries for which the migrants do
not require visas, for which they can obtain
visas easily or countries that they can enter with
less-sophisticated fraudulent travel or identity
documents. Bangkok, Thailand, for instance, has
been singled out as a transit point for Sri Lankan
nationals, where they can acquire fraudulent
documents from professional counterfeiters. 125
Some smuggled migrants from Bangladesh also
arrive in the United Kingdom by air, usually
transiting in Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates
(Dubai) or, in some cases, West Africa. 126
Smuggling within and across Western Europe
Italy is both a destination and transit country
for smuggled Sri Lankan migrants. Up to the
late 2000s, Sri Lankan migrants were commonly
smuggled to Europe by sea. Sinhalese smuggled
migrants typically remained in Italy, while Tamil
migrants continued by land to Germany. 127
Seaborne smuggling from Sri Lanka through the
Red Sea and the Mediterranean to Italy continued
in the early 2000s but gradually dropped to low
levels in the late 2000s. Over the same period,
the smuggling of migrants from Sri Lanka by air
became more popular and eventually replaced
smuggling by sea as the most common method. 128
It is still common for smuggled Sinhalese migrants
to remain in Italy while Tamil migrants continue
by land to France, Switzerland or the United
Kingdom, often travelling concealed in a car or
truck. 129
Sri Lankan migrants are usually smuggled into
Germany by air on a flight from a Gulf State.
Although there have been few reported incidents
in which fraudulently obtained visas were used
to smuggle Sri Lankan migrants to Germany,
German authorities think that document fraud
is widespread. 130 Europol reported in 2011 on
a range of cases in which Indian nationals were
smuggled into Germany, often using forged
documents. 131 Germany is also a transit country
for Indian nationals seeking to enter the United
Kingdom irregularly. 132
Belgium is both a destination for Indian migrants
and a transit point for onward travel to the United
Kingdom and Scandinavia. Much of the smuggling
into Belgium is said to involve transportation by
cars and trucks as well as the use of networks of
taxi services. 133 Some Indian migrants reportedly
have attempted to board ships destined for the
United Kingdom at the ports of Zeebrugge and
Oostende. Others pay to be concealed in a truck
bound for the United Kingdom or may attempt to
sneak into the cargo compartment of a truck at a
service station. 134
France similarly serves as a destination and transit
country for Indian and Sri Lankan migrants. Most
of them arrive directly by air or overland from
Italy. 135 Many migrants are initially taken to Paris,
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