Europol identifies and tackles emerging threats in migrant smuggling and human trafficking

In 2023 alone, Europol supported 223 operations against migrant smuggling and human trafficking networks, while also providing national law enforcement authorities with 1,231 operational reports to advance their investigations. These results came from the latest report of Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre (EMSC), based on the operations supported by the agency last year.

The European Migrant Smuggling Centre’s sixth report aims to help law enforcement step up the fight against criminal networks and highlights the challenges presented by the current criminal landscape. It focuses on the collusion between networks active in migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings as well as other criminal areas, such as drug or firearms trafficking, among others. Although these links are not structural, some of the European Migrant Smuggling Centre-supported investigations revealed such ties, including with terrorist elements who may use the services offered by migrant smugglers to enter the EU.

Fighting criminal networks that exploit vulnerable people

Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre plays a pivotal role in tackling criminal networks that exploit the desperation and vulnerability of those seeking to escape armed conflict, persecution, and deprivation. With its 11 Operational Task Forces targeting migrant smuggling and human trafficking networks, Europol has contributed to the successful investigation and the arrest of several high-value targets.

One Operational Task Force set up to dismantle a criminal network smuggling irregular migrants via Russia and Belarus to the EU, not only succeeded and helped arrest nine targets but went on to arrest 21 members of another large criminal network smuggling irregular migrants through the same route into the EU, one year later. Similarly, an Operational Task Force supported by Europol since 2020, contributed to the dismantling of two major criminal organisations smuggling and exploiting over 1,000 Chinese nationals in Spain, leading to the subsequent uncovering of another criminal network trafficking human beings for sexual and labour exploitation in Spain.

Investigating the digital dimension of migrant smuggling and human trafficking

One of the main findings of the European Migrant Smuggling Centre’s report is that smugglers and traffickers’ activities are increasingly digital, as technology becomes integral to their business models. They rely heavily on mainstream social media platforms, for instance, to advertise their services and recruit facilitators, irregular migrants, and trafficking victims.

In April 2024, Europol hosted the conference Tackling migrant smuggling in the digital domain, in presence of over 100 experts from EU countries, third party countries, agencies and international organisations. In June 2024, the Spanish National Police hosted the European Migrant Smuggling Centre’s Annual Conference in Madrid, where representatives of law enforcement authorities in EU countries and operational partner countries, EU agencies and bodies, international organisations, and the private sector, addressed current challenges faced by investigators. The conference furthered the exchange of good practices and difficulties in investigating the digital dimension of migrant smuggling, aiming to strengthen the EU’s tools in the fight against this criminal threat.

Find out more

Interconnected and digital: how migrant smugglers and human traffickers operate

EMSC report: tackling threats, addressing challenges

European Migrant Smuggling Centre – EMSC

Global alliance to counter migrant smuggling