Smuggling on European sea routes generated up to half a billion dollars last year, according to a report released on Wednesday by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the UN migration office, IOM. The total cost reached up to $500 million as thousands of people attempted hazardous journeys.
Costs and Volumes Across Major Maritime Corridors
An IOM survey revealed that nearly half of all individuals attempting to reach Italy or Malta from North Africa or Türkiye paid individual fees exceeding $7,500. Conversely, alternative corridors proved less expensive. On the Northwest African Atlantic route, where travelers use open boats from Northwest Africa toward Spain’s Canary Islands, smugglers collected as little as $170 per person. During 2025, between 190,000 and 209,000 individuals were smuggled across four primary maritime paths. The Central Mediterranean corridor was the most active, accounting for 84,000 to 100,400 travelers. This was followed by the Eastern Mediterranean route with 48,400 to 51,300 people moving from Türkiye, Libya, and the Middle East toward Greece, Cyprus, and Bulgaria. The Northwest African Atlantic pathway ranked third with 33,000 smuggled individuals, while the Western Mediterranean route recorded 24,500 people traveling from North and West Africa to Spain.
Dangers and Interceptions on the Water
The United Nations noted that a significant portion of those who paid transportation costs never reached their intended destinations. Throughout 2025, a total of 3,404 individuals died or were listed as missing across these maritime journeys. Additionally, 104,200 travelers were stopped at sea and sent back. The UNODC emphasized that offenders engage in these illegal transport operations strictly for financial gain, though not every person attempting irregular entry relies on smugglers. Estimates show that 72 to 86 percent of travelers on the Central Mediterranean path used smugglers, compared to 73 to 83 percent on the Northwest African Atlantic corridor. On the Western Mediterranean path, the proportion ranged between 57 and 90 percent, while the Eastern Mediterranean corridor saw 75 to 90 percent. In a separate incident, the IOM reported on Sunday that at least 139 migrants lost their lives following a boat capsize off Djibouti, leaving 84 individuals missing. Meanwhile, the UN highlighted the individual impact of displacement through the story of a teenage girl who escaped war-ridden Sudan for Egypt with ambitions to study technology.
Source: Cosmo News Desk
