PanamaTimes

Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

Balkan Migrant-Smuggling Business ‘Worth €50m a Year’

Balkan Migrant-Smuggling Business ‘Worth €50m a Year’

The migrant-smuggling business in Western Balkan countries is worth at least 50 million euros a year, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime NGO said in a report published on Monday.
The report assesses the money being made by smugglers in the three key smuggling zones in the Western Balkans – the borders between Greece’s borders with North Macedonia and Albania; the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU in Croatia, and Serbia’s borders with Hungary and Romania.

However, it says that the amount being made could be even higher, as some migrants travel to the EU by other means, such as from Albania to Italy by boat.

According to the report, the first major smuggling zone is where most migrants and asylum-seekers enter the Western Balkans – from Greece, either around Gevgelija in North Macedonia or near Kakavia and Kapshtica in Albania.

“In total, in 2020 the migrant-smuggling business at the main entry points to the Western Balkans at the borders between Greece and neighbouring North Macedonia and Albania can be estimated to be in the range of €19.5 to €29 million,” the report says.

The second major smuggling zone is in Bosnia and Herzegovina, “particularly around the city of Bihac in Una-Sana canton”, it continues.

“Our estimate is that the market in this region was worth around €7 million to €10.5 million in 2020, the vast majority of which was generated in Una-Sana canton,” it says.

The main hotspots for migrant-smuggling in the third zone at the Serbian border are “Horgos, the area around Subotica, Sombor, tunnels in the Kelebija area and across the Tisza River for those people moving east towards Romania and then back into Hungary”.

“The estimated value of the market in this area ranges from €8.5 million to €10.5 million in 2020,” the report says.

The report identifies various types of smugglers present in the Western Balkans, describing them as fixers, gatekeepers and package dealers.

It says fixers, who arrange transport, “usually operate within the borders of one country”.

“Prices range from a minimum of €20 per person registered in Montenegro for transport from the countryside to settlements close to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, to a maximum of €500 to €700 per vehicle for crossing the entire territory of North Macedonia from the Gevgelija area (close to the border with Greece) all the way to Kumanovo, at the border with Serbia,” the report says.

The report described people who operate around borders and charge for “safe passage” as gatekeepers. It notes that “the most organised and lucrative forms of smuggling appear to be around the borders that are the hardest to cross: between Greece and North Macedonia; North Macedonia and Serbia; Serbia and Hungary; and Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

“The criminal groups at these locations seem to be a mix of locals with a knowledge of the terrain and the movements of the police, as well as nationals of countries where the asylum seekers and migrants originate (like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Morocco and Syria),” it says.

Prices paid to gatekeepers are generally higher than those paid to fixers, because they help asylum-seekers and migrants to move across borders and to circumvent natural barriers like rivers and mountains. The report says that “the cost may include other benefits, such as a temporary safe haven”.

“For instance, migrants pay approximately €2,500 to travel from Subotica in northern Serbia to a settlement near the Hungarian border where they were accommodated in abandoned farmhouses and factories before being smuggled into Hungary,” it explains.

But the big money from migrant-smuggling made through ‘package deals’, the report says.
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
Global Law Enforcement Dismantles Lockbit Ransomware Operation
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
The President of Argentina Javier Mile does not fly private, he flies commercial, with the citizens he represents. And they LOVE him for it.
Bitcoin Reaches $50,000 for First Time in Over Two Years
Belo Horizonte: Brazil's Rising Carnival Hotspot for 2024
In El Salvador, the 'Trump of Latin America' stuns the world with a speech slamming woke policing after winning a landslide election
Tucker’s interview with Putin is over 50M views on X within the first 5 hours.
Finnish Airline, Finnair, is voluntarily weighing passengers to better estimate flight cargo weight
President Nayib Bukele has proudly announced El Salvador's remarkable achievement of becoming the safest nation in the Western Hemisphere.
Former Chilean President Sebastian Piñera Dies in Helicopter Crash
This farmer seems to understand science a bit more than the event organizer, Klaus Schwab.
Facebook turns 20: From Mark Zuckerberg's dormitory to a $1trn company
The Coolest Dictator in the World" on the Path to Victory in El Salvador
Macron, France and fake news
Indian-Origin Man 'King' Arrested For Smuggling $16 Million Drugs Into US
Can someone teach Americans that not every person with slanted eyes is Chinese?
Europe's Farmers Feeding the People, Protesting Against Politicians Who Do Nothing for Their Country and Serve Only Themselves at Taxpayers' Expense
Paris Restaurant That Inspired 'Ratatouille' Loses $1.6 Million Worth Of Wine
Brazilian Police Investigate Bolsonaro's Son for Alleged Illegal Spying
Police in Brazil Raid Residence of Bolsonaro Associate Over Allegations of Illegal Spying
Border Dispute Escalates as Texas Governor Vows Increased Razor Wire
OpenAI Enhances ChatGPT-4 Model, Potentially Addressing AI "Laziness" Issue
The NSA finally acknowledges spying on Americans by acquiring sensitive data
Report Reveals Toxic Telegram Group Generating X-Rated AI-Generated Fake Images of Taylor Swift
US Border Patrol States 'No Plans' to Remove Razor Wire Installed in Texas
Bitcoin Experiences Approximately 20% Decline in Value
Klaus Schwab recently appointed himself as the Earth's "trustee of the future."
DeSantis Drops Out, Endorses Trump.
Nikki Haley said former President Trump is "just not at the same level" of mental fitness as he was while president in 2016.
Residents of a southern Mexican town set the government palace on fire in response to the police killing of a young man
Samsung Launches AI-Driven Galaxy S24, Ushering in New Smartphone Era
Judge Questions SEC's Regulatory Overreach in Coinbase Lawsuit
The Ecuador prosecutor who was investigating the television studio attack, has been assassinated.
Is artificial intelligence the solution to cyber security threats?
Vivek Ramaswamy suspends his US election campaign and endorses Trump.
Viral Satire: A Staged Satirical Clip Mistaken as Real Footage from the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos
The AI Revolution in the Workforce: CEOs at Davos Predict Major Job Cuts in 2024
Ecuador Reports 178 Hostages in Prison Gang Standoff
The Startling Cuban Espionage Case That Has Rattled the US Government
Two Armed Men in Ecuador, Dressed as Batman and The Joker Storm the Streets.
Armed Gang Raids Ecuadorian TV Station Following State of Emergency Declaration
Anti-Democratic Canada: Journalist Arrested for Questioning Canadian Finance Minister on Support of Terrorist Group
Ecuador's 'Most-Wanted' Criminal Vanishes from Prison
Mexican Cartel Supplied Wi-Fi to Locals Under Threat of Fatal Consequences for Non-Compliance
Border Surge Leads to Over 11,000 Migrants Waiting in Northern Mexico
Outsider Candidates Triumph in Latin American Elections
As Argentina Goes to the Polls, Will the Proposal to Replace the Peso with the Dollar Secure Votes?
Fatal Shark Attack Claims Life of Boston Woman Paddleboarding Near Bahamas Resort, According to Police
×