Over one million people have made their way through the border between Turkey and Greece illegally since 2015.
This year thus far has witnessed a slight increase in the number of illegal crossings compared to 2017, with 45,737 passages being registered over the first 11 months of the year, as compared to 35,052 for the whole year 2017, according to the International Office of Migration (IOM).
These figures are still a far cry from the record-breaking numbers recorded in 2015, during which the European borders were practically submerged. A total of 853,650 people crossed the Greek-Turkish border in 215, a staggering average of more than 2,300 per day.
An agreement signed between Turkey and the European Union in 2016 reduced the flow of migrants to 176,906; it was agreed that Ankara would receive 6 billion euros in exchange for enhanced cooperation with member states against illegal immigration.
Despite cooperation with the EU, the flow of refugees has not been curtailed.
It is estimated that the number of arrivals from Turkey in 2018 will be close to the total for 2013. The country remains a natural access route, due to its geographical position. In 2015, those who made the trip to “Schengen zone” originally came from Syria (56 percent), Afghanistan (24 percent) and Iraq (10 percent). Turkey continues to remain a natural entry point for nationals of these countries.
The IOM estimates people smugglers in Europe have made $10 billion or more since 2000; however, the actual figure may be much higher.
According to a joint Europol-INTERPOL Report on Migrant Smuggling Networks, the annual turnover of migrant smuggling was worth an estimated $ 6,6 billion in 2015 alone, representing one of the main profit-generating activities for organised criminal groups in Europe.
Travel by 90 percent of the migrants to the European Union (EU) is predominantly facilitated by members of a criminal network. The agencies tallied their estimate of smuggler profits last year by multiplying the number of arrivals by the per-person cost, which they said ranged between $3,200 to $6,500. This figure could be underestimated. Afghan refugees in Athens said they had to pay around $ 8000 each to travel from their war-torn country to Germany.
It is not only the smugglers who line their pockets in this industry, there are also hotel managers, taxi drivers, cafes and phone shops owners, life-jackets providers who are making a profit from this line of work.
The human smuggling market has become very lucrative for specialized criminal networks. Well organized transnational groups have set up at strategic crossing points, such as along the Aegean coasts of Turkey, sometimes only a few kilometres away from Greek islands, and also in western Thrace, along the Evros river. The price of the crossing has varied according to the law of supply and demand, as well as the season and the conditions; however, ranges between $ 300 - $ 2000 on average.
In 2015, each passenger had to spend about $ 1000 to board an inflatable boat what squeeze up to 40 or 50 people on board.
A former leader of a large network of Syrian smugglers based in Mersin I once interviewed said he was in charge of a dozen boats going back and forth between the Izmir region and the Greek islands. This smuggler shared that at the height of the crisis, his turnover was as high as $ 500,000 a day.
Facilitators behind migrant smuggling are organized in loosely connected networks, according to Europol-Interpol reports.
Migrant smuggling is a multinational business not limited to certain locations; suspects originate from more than 100 countries, European agencies say.
SOURCE: Ahval News
