The Mediterranean Sea has seen a boom in illegal migrant crossings so far this year, much of which is organised by networks of people smugglers who are said to be making large amounts of cash despite the suffering of the migrants involved in the often dangerous journeys.
This week, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced the arrest of a prolific people smuggler accused of being the head of a smuggling network that may have aided thousands of migrants to enter Europe illegally by boat from North Africa.
According to the NCA, the suspect, a 40-year-old Egyptian national, was arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport on Wednesday. Senior investigating officer Darren Barr stated:
People smuggling is an international problem and tackling this at every step of the route is a priority for the NCA. We suspect this man has been running his operation from the UK, and masterminding the smuggling of thousands of migrants. The type of boats organised crime groups use for crossings are death traps, and sadly many people have died after incidents in the Mediterranean, which demonstrates the level of danger. We will continue to share intelligence and take action with partners to prevent crossings and arrest people smugglers here and overseas.
The NCA stated that the man had been arrested in cooperation with the Italian Guardia di Finanza and that the suspect’s network had packed boats with hundreds of migrants at a time.
The arrest of the 40-year-old comes just a week after a boat allegedly packed with hundreds of migrants sank off the southern coast of Greece, killing at least 82 people. The overcrowded fishing boat may have had as many as 750 migrants on board, however.
Several nationalities were on board the ship, including Pakistanis and this week the Pakistani government claimed that at least 350 of its nationals were on the boat when it sank.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah stated that at least 281 families had come forward seeking assistance from the government, while 193 others had taken DNA tests to help identify the bodies recovered from the wreck so far.
Nine people smugglers have so far been arrested by Greek authorities and, like the 40-year-old arrested in the UK, are all of Egyptian nationality, though it remains unclear if the two cases are connected.
The smugglers who led hundreds to their deaths off the Greek coast, in what is possibly the worst migrant shipwreck in terms of loss of life in the Mediterranean Sea, charged as much as $8,000 per migrant aboard the overcrowded fishing boat.
The boat is said to have begun its journey in Egypt and travelled to Libya before heading toward its final destination Italy, which has seen a surge of illegal arrivals this year.
As of Friday, June 23rd, the number of migrants who have arrived in Italy illegally by the Central Mediterranean route is just under 60,000, up around 130% compared to last year, with Egyptian nationals making up the second largest number of migrants behind those from the Ivory Coast.
The landings come despite Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s vows to reduce illegal immigration levels since becoming Italian leader last year.
Meloni has held meetings with top Tunisian government officials in recent weeks, including President Kais Saied and interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh in an effort to tackle illegal immigration as the majority of the boats departing to Italy do so from Tunisia.
The Italian Prime Minister has promised as much as $750 million in aid and has said she will work to help Tunisia regarding a dispute over bailout cash with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
So far, however, the numbers reaching Italy continue to grow and the European Union border agency Frontex expects that there will be an increase in smuggling activity in the coming months.
