Smugglers are everywhere... If you arrest 100 tomorrow, 200 will take their place, it is just a job
HUNDREDS of would-be people smugglers are waiting to fill the void if existing criminal networks are broken up, a trafficker warned yesterday.
Ari, 42, says a police crackdown on moving people across the Continent will not end the migration crisis, adding: “Tomorrow, if you arrest 100 people, 200 more will come.”
The Iraqi-Kurdish criminal also told how “many” smugglers traffick drugs as well as people to boost their already vast profits – but it means they are more likely to be caught.
Illegal
In the second of a series of special reports, the Daily Express can reveal how European governments and investigations are failing to get to the root of the migration problem.
Ari, based in Istanbul, Turkey, who has been smuggling people across Europe for 20 years, said the focus should be on the “Hawala system” – how migrants pay the smugglers.
This process sees a third party pay a handler – typically found in a cash exchange office in the migrant’s home country – who then holds on to the money until the migrant arrives safely at their destination.
The smuggler can then collect their payment from a cash exchange office in their own country. No physical money is ever handed over.
Ari said the handlers – who act as middlemen between smugglers and migrants – were “key” in the smuggling process.
“They are the ones in charge of giving me the money,” he said. “They are doing everything illegally.
“It is happening in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt… they are doing this in every country.
“I get the money here from one of the offices. If those offices are not operating, I can’t do my job.”
He added: “Do you think the smugglers operating between the UK and are sending people voluntarily? Many of the money transfers will be done in the UK, from the UK.”
The Daily Express can also reveal details of how migrants are being brought into Europe from Turkey.
Those hoping to reach the UK tend to arrive in the Fatih district of Istanbul, around 20 minutes from popular tourist destinations. The system relies upon word-of-mouth instructions but Ari told how potential “customers” will generally head to Aksaray metro station then look for cafes where smugglers and facilitators can be easily found.
Once they have secured passage to Europe, they are told to wait in cheap motels.
The migrants will then be taken by bus to western Turkey to board a boat for either Italy or Greece – or be bunFrance
dled into a lorry with Turkish number plates and driven to the border with Bulgaria.
If they are travelling by road, the migrants will be ordered into waiting vehicles with Bulgarian plates at a location on the other side of the border.
Facilitators will accompany migrants throughout their journeys.Ari said: “There are people in this business almost everywhere. Here, Bosnia, France, Italy – everywhere there are smugglers. All over the world it is like that.
“People are working, they are making money…it is a job. Now it is becoming a normal job. It is making money to survive.”
Ari told how smugglers have a network of communication and will often let each other know if they are bringing people into their territory.
Depending on the route, local smugglers will take responsibility for all of the roads in their area and moving migrants on to the next checkpoint.
Ari said he manages migrants all the way from Turkey to Italy – but if they are travelling through the western Balkans towards central Europe, smugglers in Bulgaria will take over until they pass them over to the next criminal gang.
The criminal admitted that “luck” plays a big part in all smuggling jobs – but if you deal with drugs as well, you’re more likely to end up in jail.
“Of course, it is up to the person. You can decide what you are doing,” he said.
“There is some stuff that if you don’t go near, you won’t get caught. For example, dealing drugs – many smugglers are doing that – but I am personally against it. I avoid it. I am not getting myself involved in any drugs or other illegal stuff.
“Of course, the money you get from this is very, very huge. But I don’t feel happy to get involved with this.
“I see thousands of people who are dying from this. That is why I am not going near this.”
Routes
Figures show that more than 45,000 migrants crossed the Channel last year.
The Home Office predicts that 60,000 more could reach the UK by the end of 2023.
Figures published last week by Frontex, the EU’s external borders agency, revealed 64,000 migrants have been detected on two routes used by smugglers operating out of Turkey.