Over a thousand men, smuggled into Oman, return to Pakistan by boat after they were arrested and imprisoned. Thousands of South Asians are smuggled into the Middle East each year, but many are caught and sent back.

People smuggling is a term which is used to describe transportation of people across international borders to a non-official entry point of a destination country for a variety of reasons. Typically those being transported may not have adequate formal travel documents or prior approval to enter the destination country.

People smugglers are often used by refugees fleeing persecution, although many people who are smuggled are seeking to better their employment and financial opportunities. However, with the growing restrictions on refugee policies worldwide, asylum seekers escaping persecution or extremely difficult living conditions are often interpreted as mere economic migrants. Interpol, in a recent communication, described people smuggling as follows:

People smuggling has become the preferred trade of a growing number of criminal networks world-wide which are showing an increasing sophistication in regard to move larger numbers of people at higher profits than ever.

In the Southwest United States, a "coyote" is a person paid to smuggle illegal immigrants across the border between Mexico and the United States. Snakeheads are smugglers from China who smuggle people into the United States and other Western countries.

Human trafficking differs from people smuggling. A people smuggler will facilitate illegal entry into a country for a fee, but on arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is usually free. Trafficking involves a process of using physical force, fraud or deception to obtain and transport people. Women, who form the majority of trafficking victims, are particularly at risk from criminals who exploit lack of opportunities, promise good jobs or opportunities for study, and then force the victims to be prostitutes. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

[edit] See also

Wikinews has news related to:

• Shipwreck off coast of Libya; hundreds of African migrants feared dead
• Italian police find 24 children living in Rome's sewers
• 46 illegal Afghan immigrants suffocate in truck in Pakistan

• Asylum shopping
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• Federal crime
• Human trafficking
• Identity document forgery
• Immigration
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL)
• Illegal immigration
• Organized crime
• Smuggling
• Snakehead, gangs in China that smuggle people
• United States Border Patrol
• United States Coast Guard
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Human Smuggling in Pakistan
• Ansar Burney Trust - organisation working against human smuggling and trafficking
• Havocscope Human Smuggling Market
• Amnesty International, People Smuggling - fact sheet