An ex-member of a trafficking gang based in Libya recounted the criminal world of human-trafficking operations in the war-torn country.
Lovin Malta newspaper said it has recently secured a discussion with the ex-human trafficker, who was based in Zuwara, Libya, for a deep dive into this veiled world on the condition of anonymity.
The former smuggler described the trafficking network as operating “like a drug empire” with transportation routes spanning the entirety of the African continent.
“Now they have got so big, it is like a drug empire. They have a transportation network all over the continent, before they used to only take money so they can get you from Libya to Europe, recently they can get you all the way from the Saharan border to the shores,” he said, according to Lovin Malta.
Two main trafficking channels exist, each with its own dangers and price tags. The first involves large cargo ships, a service that costs between €500- €2000 euros.
This method, often used by locals from Libya and Tunisia, requires “good connections with the crew” and is considered the safer option of the two. He claimed that the traffickers bribe crew members to hide the migrants until they reach Europe, usually Italy.
The second method, more widely known and used, relies on small and regular boats for a fee ranging from €300- €500 euros. The migrants board dangerous and overcrowded vessels, often alongside others from Africa, the Middle East, and South Asian nations.
“They do not pay the traffickers to get on the boat, any person can buy these cheap dinghy boats and head north, they pay them because they have connections with the corrupt Libyan and Tunisian Coast Guard, so their vessels are purposely ignored until they reach Europe,” he added.
“They are trying to target the youth because they are the ones who see on the internet what it is like in Europe compared to their torn country.” For an additional fee, the traffickers will even connect migrants with individuals who can forge European passports, residence permits, and driving licenses.
But humans aren’t the only commodity being trafficked. He noted that these gangs also deal in cash, drugs, and petrol. Their operations are so lucrative that rivalries have erupted into full-blown gang wars.
“The heads of these gangs are well-known, they know who they are and where they are, yet for some reason, they are not sending anyone to capture them!”
“It is almost like people in power want them there, funny enough I know these kingpins of trafficking have luxury houses and yachts abroad and gets special visas to travel to Europe,” he concluded.
