Human traffickers now set eyes on Malta for european destinations

[Naveed Yaseen]

REPUBLIC of Malta, a small but densely populated European state, is emerging as a new destination of human traffickers to transport illegal migrants to different European countries especially Italy and Spain.

Sources in Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said that the agency received several complaints that illegal migration of Pakistanis was going on through sea routes from Malta to Sicily, which was only 93 kilometres away.

The sources said human traffickers have established their network in Valletta, the capital of Malta from where they arranged legal documents for their ‘clients’.

The sources said that the traffickers were charging from Rs 600,000 to Rs 800,000 from a person to give them legal entry in Malta and later to Spain or Italy by ship. The sources said Malta has developed a big tourism infrastructure due to which the intending illegal migrants to Europe could not be spotted easily.

They said other than Malta, the traffickers have also established their network in different African countries like Malawi, Guinea, Mozambique, Kenya and etc from where they transport their clients to European countries.

The sources said the FIA had also received a number of complaints regarding trafficking through these countries but the rackets were very strong and the main figures were operating from outside Pakistan.

Many youths managed to escape from the trafficker’s detention and revealed overwhelming stories before the FIA bosses, but a serious action against the gangs involved is yet to be initiated, the sources said.

They said the agents convinced their clients that first they would be taken to Malta from where they would be transported to their desired destinations on new passports.

The sources said the agents charged Rs 300,000 in Pakistan, and charged the remaining half payment from the ‘client’ after reaching Malta.

A senior official of FIA while talking with The News over the issue said that sometimes, parents unwittingly surrender their youngsters to a trafficker who lured families with the promise of good-paying jobs in the outer world for their children.

He said the most difficult aspect of investigating this crime was identification of the culprits because families of the people who went abroad did not complained unless their beloved were either deported or faced any kind of problem abroad.

He said the FIA was working against the human traffickers and several gangs had already been smashed and various notorious human traffickers were arrested who were sending people to Europe through African countries. There was a need of creating awareness among the masses so that the people should start discouraging the agents besides adopting a legal way for going abroad, he concluded.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=169376