Lilongwe (Malawi) 15 August 2023 - Criminals who smuggle or traffic humans within countries or across borders use all possible routes and modes of transportation to transfer people for profit and exploitation.
In Southern Africa, truck drivers who transport goods throughout the vast continent are being recruited to move people illegally, often unaware of the severity and consequences of this crime for themselves and their employers.
Through a UNODC-led programme, transnational truck drivers in Malawi are now learning about the risks of transporting irregular migrants or trafficking victims, and the courses, which started this February, are already proving to be a success.
“There’s a lack of understanding of human trafficking and migrant smuggling in the region, and payment for illegally transporting people is much larger than the regular truck driver’s salary,” said Maxwell Matewere, a UNODC crime prevention expert who conducts the training.
“Most drivers know what they’re doing is illegal but are told that when they cross borders corrupt officials will let them pass. So they take the money and the risk,” he added.
If apprehended by authorities, the truck drivers are usually arrested and imprisoned, explained Mr. Matewere further.
“Their vehicles are impounded and, in some cases, even destroyed. The owner of the truck can be fined and the cargo either disposed of or sold by the government at auction.”
Malawi, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, is at the crossroads of significant flows of people fleeing conflict, instability and poverty in Central Africa and the Horn of Africa.
Such movements provide lucrative opportunities for smugglers and traffickers - and for Malawi’s 5000 registered international truck drivers.
Following a series of arrests in neighbouring countries and confiscation of vehicles, the Professional Drivers Association of Malawi asked UNODC to train its members on the dangers of transporting smuggled migrants and victims of trafficking.
So far, UNODC has conducted four courses for around 400 drivers with further sessions planned for October.
“We explain that migrant smuggling and human trafficking are serious organized criminal activities punishable by laws in Malawi and the countries the drivers transit, such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique,” said Maxwell Matewere.
The participants are informed about the penalties they face if caught, including loss of their truck and employment, a criminal record or imprisonment of up to 14 years in a foreign country.
“Furthermore, the drivers are told that these crimes are linked to exploitation, abuse and violence and can even result in death. And we tell them about the connections to other illicit activities such as drugs and firearms smuggling,” he added.
A former truck driver, who attended a course and wanted to remain anonymous, has firsthand knowledge of the consequences of working with a migrant smuggling ring.
The experience not only cost him his job, health and marriage but also resulted in a three-year prison term in Mozambique.
“I used to transport sugar from Malawi. In 2016, I had to wait for several days at a border crossing in Tanzania for customs checks. I was approached by a man who offered me a lot of money to transport goats,” he said.
The driver was paid in advance, and the man took photos of him and his truck. He spent some of the money and sent some to his wife.
“On the day I was due to leave, the man told me the ‘goats’ were actually 30 illegal migrants from Ethiopia. They looked very sick, tired, and malnourished. He said I had to take them to a location in Malawi that’s close to a large refugee camp,” continued the driver.
When he tried to protest, the smuggler demanded his money back, threatened to take the truck, and share the photos of him with the authorities.
“This is how it all started, and soon it became my main business. The man would pay me a lot of money and escort me in a small car, so he could bribe corrupt police and immigration officers along the way.”
According to the driver, at first he was not aware he was doing something illegal. Then in 2019, he was arrested in Mozambique while transporting 72 migrants from Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Now I’m sick, unemployed and divorced. But, I’m pleased to have attended this training and hope my story can help to educate other drivers,” he said.
Another participant, Feckson Chimodzi, a truck driver who transports farming products from countries in Southern Africa into Malawi, said drivers who work with smugglers and traffickers do it “out of necessity” to supplement their low salaries.
“If we’re involved in criminal acts, it’s also bad for the image of our companies,” he said. “So our employers need to improve our working conditions and give us comprehensive training about the dangers of getting involved in these crimes.”
Since the courses started, the Professional Drivers Association has reported a reduction in the number of arrests of Malawian drivers on charges of migrant smuggling and human trafficking and the confiscation of trucks.
Many drivers who attended the training are proving to be “very useful allies” in the prevention and detection of cases of migrant smuggling and human trafficking, said UNODC’s Maxwell Matewere.
Last year, Malawi’s Ministry for Homeland Security appointed a group of law enforcement officers to counter the increasing cases of migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
“We’ve established contact between the truck drivers we trained and this specialised unit. So they now know who to inform when they’ve been approached by criminals to carry people in their vehicles.”
Since May, seven attempts of human trafficking and migrant smuggling have been stopped by authorities at borders crossings due to information from truck drivers.
A recent case involved 40 Malawians, including children, who were being taken in three trucks to South Africa and intercepted on the border with Zambia.
The awareness raising courses are organized through UNODC’s Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section, with the cooperation of Malawi’s Ministry of Homeland Security and through the financial support of the Government of Sweden.
