Migrant Smuggling Data and Research

On the basis of the available data, the majority came from Albania,
Greece, Syrian Arab Republic, Bulgaria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Turkey (Hellenic
Police, 2016).
A different approach is followed by the Swiss authorities, which publish
processed data, mainly in the form of percentages (Federal Police of Switzerland,
2015). In 2014, for instance, a total of 364 case files of migrant smuggling were
registered in the country. The majority of the smugglers came from Kosovo/
UNSC 1244 (29%), followed by Eritrea (15%) and Syrian Arab Republic (8%); most
victims were from Kosovo/UNSC 1244 (28%), Albania (10%) and Syrian Arab
Republic (8%). Switzerland also reports that false or stolen documents were
used in only 22 per cent of the cases.
Italy, on the other hand, only shares statistics on smuggled migrants, but
not smugglers themselves. The latter are included within a general category
of immigration-related offences without further segregation (Carrera, 2016;
European Migration Network, 2014). The United Kingdom only publishes data
about persons who have been prosecuted for assisting unlawful migration;
between 2010 and 2014, this was tantamount to 1,860 persons (Carrera, 2016;
European Migration Network, 2014).
Figure 5.2: Apprehensions of irregular migrants and suspected smugglers in Greece
Source: Hellenic Police, Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction, 2016.
Migrant Smuggling Data and Research:
A global review of the emerging evidence base
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