Among other findings, the report estimates that the annual turnover of migrant smuggling was worth an estimated USD 5 to 6 billion in 2015, representing one of the main profit-generating activities for organised criminals in Europe.

The new report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) investigates the involvement of organized criminal groups in the smuggling of migrants from West Africa towards the European Union (EU).

A large-scale operation involving law enforcement and judicial authorities from Belgium, France and Germany, coordinated by Europol and Eurojust, led to the dismantling of one of the most active networks involved in the smuggling of migrants across the English Channel in small boats. 

At a conference today, the European Commission proposed new legislation to prevent and fight migrant smuggling and also launched a call to action for a Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling.

Today, key Belgian stakeholders in the fight against migrant smuggling discussed inter alia the use of social media in migrant smuggling at a round-table organized by the Belgian Contact Point of the EMN.

The European Council on 17-18 December 2015 agreed to speed up actions on the operation of hotspots, the implementation of relocation decisions and returns, the control of external borders and cooperation with third countries.

A pan-european operation dismantled a migrant smuggling network, generating 77 arrests.