From human to drug trafficking in southern Europe

The well established human trafficking route from Africa to Europe has traditionally followed a path from Libya to Italy via Malta, but recent trends show more smugglers are turning from people to drugs to elicit profits.

The diversification of the so-called ‘southern route’ was highlighted in the most recent report by Europol. The EU Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2009 report states that the southern route has been reactivated over the past year as cocaine and heroin have overtaken the demand for people trafficking from the south.

The number of asylum seekers in Italy and Malta has dropped significantly due to what Europol believes is the far more profitable and easier drug market for crime syndicates.

The southern hub revolves around Italian criminal organisations that in turn build networks throughout greater Europe, with the report claiming that Tripoli is the current hot-spot as a feeder point. Feeder hubs generally exist just outside Europe’s borders and are thought to develop at the wishes of criminal gangs as opposed to the nation or city in question. Feeder hubs can be relatively small and passive, effectively just acting as a departure point or can evolve into well organised business centres where transactions are discussed and finalised.

Europol also suggests that in addition to drugs, counterfeit goods, cigarettes and counterfeit euros are also popular along the route. The report claims that all of the bigger Italian crime organisations are involved in the drug trade, often working alongside Colombian, Turkish, African and Albanian criminals. Italy’s criminal syndicates also play a powerful role in the importation of cocaine from Columbia along with France, Spain and Portugal according to the report.