EU: Dutch police encouraging "business analysis" of refugee and migrant smuggling
06 December 2017
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EU
Dutch police encouraging "business analysis" of refugee and migrant smuggling
6.12.17
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The Council of the European Union: Action Plan on the way forward with regard to financial investigation - implementation of Action 3 (Financial investigations applied in the fight against migrant smuggling) (LIMITE doc no: 14607-17, pdf)
The Dutch police are encouraging other EU police forces to examine refugee and migrant smuggling from a "business analysis" perspective. Defining the issue as: .
"Criminal organisations facilitating irregular migration play a key role in the current flow of migrants into Europe and so pose a major threat to European security."
"Since the involved criminals are in it for the money, disrupting the business model of facilitators of illegal migration using financial investigative techniques, may offer an alternative strategy in stemming the flow of illegal migration."
"Facilitators of illegal migration interact with their customers using social media and personal networks. In some cases migrants receive special offers if they collaborate with the facilitators... For example, if a migrant brings in ten other migrants, they will get a discount or parts of the journey for free. Also, crime groups offer a discount or a free border crossing to a migrant that is willing to steer the rubber boat crossing the Mediterranean."
It is not quite clear that this "discount or a free border crossing" should be described as such. See: The Wrong Catch Italy Imprisons Refugees Who Were Forced to Pilot Smuggling Boats at Gunpoint (The Intercept, link)
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