Europe Under Siege from People-Smuggling Gangs
People smuggling gangs generate profits of up to £6 billion ($8 billion) a year, with migrants often paying more than £10,000 ($13,000) to secure illegal entry into the UK, according to Britain’s National Crime Agency.
Europe Under Siege from People-Smuggling Gangs
Soeren Kern | Gatestone Institute | January 7, 2020
Hungarian police recently discovered two tunnels used to smuggle migrants into Hungary from Serbia. The tunnels were found at the same time that Hungarian police reported a five-fold increase in the number of migrants attempting to enter Hungary.
Hungary is not alone: Border authorities in countries across the European Union are struggling to stanch renewed flows of illegal migration. More than 126,500 migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East illegally entered the EU during 2019, according to the International Organization for Migration.
On November 29, Hungarian police detained 44 migrants who were found walking along a highway near Ásotthalom, a village in southern Hungary. Police later learned that the migrants had crossed into Hungary from Serbia by crawling through a 34-meter (112-foot) hand-dug tunnel.
