Europe is struggling to stop the record number of migrants making their way across the Mediterranean with the hope of escaping violence, civil war and poverty.
Those numbers are rising dramatically, and so are the numbers of those who die at sea, with some groups like the International Organization of Migration saying the figure could rise to 30,000.
As European leaders look to ways that could stop the dying, they are looking at the men who are sending migrants on their journeys. Who are these smugglers? And how do they run their lucrative operations?
Here & Now’s Robin Young speaks with Italian criminologist Andrea Di Nicola who spent two years traveling with the traffickers.
Guest
- Andrea Di Nicola, criminologist at the University of Trento in Italy. His book on the smuggling trade is called “Confessions of a People Smuggler.” He tweets @profdinik.
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