Out of Africa: The organization of migrant smuggling across the Mediterranean

Abstract

How are human smuggling operations organized? This paper presents an empirical in-depth study of the structure and activities of a smuggling ring operating between the Horn of Africa and Northern Europe via Libya. It relies on a unique set of novel data sets manually extracted from an extensive police investigation launched after the 2013 Lampedusa shipwreck, in which 366 migrants lost their lives. The evidence includes wiretapped conversations on both sides of the Mediterranean. Using a number of network analysis techniques, this paper reconstructs the structure of the ring and investigates the determinants of coordination among its actors. This paper is the first work to offer a formal network modelling of human smuggling operations. It shows that, rather than being internalized within a single organization, activities are segmented and carried out by localized and rudimentary hierarchies with a small number of high-centrality actors operating at various stages along the smuggling route. Coordination is more likely to occur vertically than horizontally, indicating that higher-level smugglers are largely independent and autonomous. There are also indications of competition among them. Finally, even in rings involved in the supply of a truly transnational commodity, the local dimension still plays a crucial role. The implications for criminal justice responses to human smuggling are discussed.

The Market for Human Smuggling into Europe: A Macro Perspective

“…Rather, there seems to be a high degree of competition among largely independent and autonomous smugglers (Campana 2016c;incidentally, there Finally, to support sudden and sizeable expansions in the market, smugglers and migrants alike need to rely on an infrastructure that is able to handle transnational payments and is equally flexible. According to many sources, the hawala system appears to perform this role well, and it is a popular choice among actors looking for a financial infrastructure to support smuggling-related transactions (Int-3; Int-4.…”

Entrepreneurial elements of human smuggling rings: findings from a multiple case study

“…3 A first step in the debate was made through the revision of the traditional definition of "organized crime" (Bruinsma and Bernasco 2004;Paoli 2002;Chin 1999), which originally portrayed criminal groups as mafia-type hierarchical organizations, involved in several profit-making criminal activities, and headed by a leader coordinating the operatives in a rigid chain of leadership, trust and family links. Thus, according to more recent findings, human smuggling is dealt by opportunistic, smaller-scale networks, featuring a flexible structure with part-time partnerships between small smuggling businesses of horizontally integrated individuals 4 (Coen 2011;Mallia 2010;Bruinsma and Bernasco 2004;Schloenhardt 2003;Paoli 2002;Salt and Stein 1997), and including "largely independent professionals and small cliques coordinated through a network of temporary contracts" (Campana 2018;Di Nicola et al 2017;Leman and Janssens 2015;Naim 2010;Kyle and Scarcelli 2009;Koser 2008;Pastore et al 2006:97;Içduygu and Toktas 2002). These networks are flexible and able to "respond readily to the growth and decline of a market for a particular illicit good or service", and the availability of new strategic resources (Gottschalk 2008:5).…”

Centrality, Mobility, and Specialization: A Study of Drug Markets in a Non-metropolitan Area in the United Kingdom

“…The aim of this study is to move beyond the existing qualitative assessment of the supply-side of UK drug markets by taking an empirical and systematic approach to reconstruct and model (offline) interactions among drug suppliers. This follows in the tradition of previous studies that have started using new data sources and social network techniques to further the study of organised crime and the drug trade (Morselli, 2001;Natarajan, 2000Natarajan, , 2006Morselli & Petit, 2007;Malm & Bichler, 2011;Bright, Hughes, & Chalmers, 2012;Calderoni, 2012;Varese, 2013;Framis, 2014;Bright, Greenhill, & Levenkova, 2014;Natarajan et al, 2015;Campana 2016aCampana , 2018. In addition, it offers a comparative analysis of different drug markets as well as an empirical assessment of the influence of organised crime groups and the interactions between organised crime members and other market participants.…”

“…However, in light of other studies of criminal networks, we believe that police data still remains an important and fruitful source of information to study the structure of drug operations (Natarajan, 2000(Natarajan, , 2006Morselli & Petit, 2007;Campana 2011Campana , 2016aCampana , 2016bCampana , 2018Malm & Bichler, 2011;Bright, Hughes & Chalmers, 2012;Varese, 2013;Bright, Greenhill & Levenkova, 2014;Calderoni, 2014, Framis, 2014Natarajan et al, 2015). McGloin (2005) elicited information on interactions among gang members and their associates from the experiential knowledge of police officers, and then analysed this evidence using social network analysis.…”