Europol launches centre to step up illegal migration fight

The EU police agency Europol on Tuesday launched a new centre to step up the fight against criminal networks illegally smuggling migrants around Europe, focusing on the "digital environment" where gangs operate.

The European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling (ECAMS) will concentrate on investigations based on data and open-source intelligence and will also conduct financial investigations, tracing the illicit profits generated by smugglers.

ECAMS aims to use the data it gathers to smash the business model of smuggling gangs, which advertise their services online, recruiting would-be migrants who hand over thousands of euros to make perilous journeys to Europe.

"Migrant smuggling networks are operating with increasing complexity, both online and offline," Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle said in a statement.

"It is essential that our action remains agile, underpinned by strong operational intelligence and close cooperation at a global level."

ECAMS will analyse data from EU member states and partners to map criminal networks, identify key players and prioritise high-risk targets, Europol said.

Smugglers demand up to 20,000 euros ($23,000) per person to take migrants from countries such as Iran to the likes of Germany, Britain or the Netherlands, according to Europol data.

The gangs reinvest some of their profits into their operations and infrastructure.

"Criminal networks generate enormous revenues by exploiting vulnerable people," De Bolle said at a press conference to launch ECAMS.

"For these networks, people are not human beings, they are commodities."

ECAMS will build on Europol's European Migrant Smuggling Centre, launched in 2016, which has helped in the arrest of thousands of suspected smugglers.