When Amadou* left the Libyan coast in a tiny rubber boat with around a hundred migrants, he was exhausted. He had already endured kidnapping, forced labour, food deprivation and more at the hands of his smugglers during his journey.
Now, one of the three smugglers seated at the front pulled out a large knife, ordering the migrants to keep quiet during the voyage or he would puncture the boat and drown them all.
When the engine ran out of fuel, they were still far from the European shores. It was only after seven hours adrift in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea at night that the man with the knife dialled a number on his satellite phone and called rescuers.
A long journey
Amadou, a 29-year-old Guinean, had travelled for two months through Mali and Algeria before reaching Tripoli, Libya. He paid migrant smugglers – well-known in his hometown – to transport and guide him to Italy.
But once in Libya, a local gang captured and detained him.
Oceans are indispensable to our survival. Covering nearly 70 per cent of the planet, oceans feed us, provide us with jobs and serve as the engine for much of the economy.
But their vastness provides an opportunity for transnational organized crime to operate, which is why the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) works to keep our oceans safe and free from crime.
On World Maritime Day on 26 September, find out how UNODC is helping states to respond to smuggling at sea and protect vulnerable migrants.
After fulfilling their demands and gaining his freedom, he spent around about three months in Libya, working as a bricklayer to raise the remaining amount of money to reach Europe.
The trip across the sea to Italy cost another 7,500 dinars (about 1,500 USD). After the payment, smugglers working for a large criminal organization operating in Zawiya, Libya, locked him up again, along with many other migrants of different nationalities, genders and ages – even newborn children.
For two weeks, many were forced to work on a construction site. They were beaten, raped and left famished, with no access to clean water.
The world’s deadliest migration route
Carrying out rescue operations and ensuring safety on board during a Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) operation in the Mediterranean.
The Central Mediterranean route – stretching from North Africa to Italy – is the deadliest migration route, with more than 17,000 deaths and disappearances recorded since 2014, mostly due to drowning, according to the International Organization for Migration.
There, smugglers transported 212,100 known migrants in 2023, an alarming 33 per cent increase compared to the year before.
On the day of the departure, a group of smugglers armed with guns ordered Amadou and several others to pump up the rubber boat on a deserted beach.
At sea, they had nothing to eat or drink, nor did they have any safety equipment. When water started seeping into the boat, they improvised methods to pump it out.
They were rescued in the early morning by an Italian ship. The three boat drivers were brought to court, where Amadou and others told their stories.
The court ruled that the smugglers had deliberately endangered the migrants’ lives, only to then launch a distress call to get rescued and reach Italy.
“In most cases, those prosecuted for smuggling are ‘low-level players’: skippers or helmsmen,” said Judge Simona Ragazzi of the Catania Trial Court in Italy.
“At the end of this crime’s proceedings, high-level ringleaders often remain unpunished.”
Real-life training at sea and in court
UNODC uses real-life cases like this to train maritime law enforcement officers and legal experts to respond to instances of smuggling, protect vulnerable migrants and reinforce international cooperation.
It organized a week-long training in Larnaca, Cyprus, for officers from Egypt, Cyprus and Lebanon. The participants were trained to search for and seize smugglers’ vessels, collect and handle evidence and ensure the safety and protection of migrants’ rights.
The exercise included a simulation at sea in which the participants engaged in an operation to board and secure a vessel led by suspected smugglers, who were also involved in drug trafficking and carried firearms.
The sea operation was followed by a mock trial on land, where all participants took part in a trial simulation using the evidence gathered at sea. They learnt about legal procedures, presenting evidence in court and preparing convincing arguments based on the facts.
“Observing the collection of evidence by the boarding team at sea will undoubtedly allow me to better understand and deal with the evidence presented to me in court,” a Lebanese judge remarked, praising the training’s insightful and innovative approach.
“Seeing first-hand how evidence collected on board can be used in court by both the prosecution and the defence has opened my eyes to the importance of respecting procedures when collecting evidence during maritime operations,” said another officer from Lebanon.
*Name has been changed.
Further information
Led by UNODC’s Global Maritime Crime Programme, the training drew on the combined expertise of the Office's Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section and the Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration.
This initiative was made possible by the generous support of the United States of America, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Republic of Austria and the European Union.
