Migrant Smuggling Data and Research

Overview of migrant smuggling in the country
Turkey is certainly at the crossroads for irregular migrant flows originating
in the Middle East and beyond. It also acts as an active hub of migrant smuggling
where human smugglers operate across three old continents – Africa, Asia and
Europe – and throughout the Mediterranean basin. As classified in Frontex
reports, there are three main smuggling routes in the greater Mediterranean
basin: (a) Western Mediterranean route, from North Africa and Western African
coast to Iberian Peninsula; (b) Central Mediterranean route, from parts of Africa
to Italy and Malta; and (c) Eastern Mediterranean route, from Middle East and
Turkey targeting Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria both by sea and by land near Evros
River (Frontex, 2013; 2014). Until 2014, the majority of the flows to Europe were
coming through the Central Mediterranean route, and specifically through Libya
(Frontex, 2013). In 2015, it shifted to the Eastern Mediterranean where Turkey is
located right at the centre as a transit zone – with more than 1 million arrivals in
the European Union, including men, women and children. Some migrants and/
or migrant smugglers coming from the other two routes also preferred this third
route through Turkey to make entry to Europe. 31 Therefore, due to its location,
irregular migrants transiting Turkey with human smugglers travel not only from
south to north but also along the east-west axis – from Bangladesh, Pakistan,
Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey and ultimately reaching Europe (ICMPD, 2015).
In order to take a clear snapshot on migrant smuggling flows and trends
in Turkey and the Middle East, this chapter refers to the apprehension figures in
Turkey since the actual number of flows on human smuggling is not available.
Between the mid-1990s and early 2000s, the number of apprehended cases of
irregular migrants increased from 11,000 in 1995 to 94,000 in 2000 (İçduygu,
2004). Between 2001 and 2013, with some fluctuations over the years, an
average of 56,232 irregular migrants was apprehended annually from different
nationalities (İçduygu and Aksel, 2015). 32 There is clear evidence suggesting the
sudden rise of irregular migration in Turkey after 2011, apprehensions reaching
as high as nearly 150,000 by 2015. 33 Recent research findings on irregular
migration in Turkey inform that not all these apprehension cases involved
migrant smuggling though. It is estimated that only half of those apprehended
are subjected to smuggling (İçduygu and Yükseker, 2012).
31
See ICMPD’s Report (2015) funded by the European Commission for a detailed analysis of how Nigerian
nationals used air travel through Turkey to Bulgaria.
32
It should be noted, however, that it is very likely that the scale of irregular migration into and through Turkey
and the number of human smugglers operating in the region is much higher than the apprehensions.
33
Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM) of Turkey. Homepage (n.d.) (in Turkish). Available
from www.goc.gov.tr/icerik6/duzensiz-goc_363_378_4710_icerik
Migrant Smuggling Data and Research:
A global review of the emerging evidence base
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