Going undercover to reveal people smugglers' sales tactics - BBC News

They say their routes from Pakistan are “safe”, with one claiming “hundreds” are transported daily.

15 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Migrants from Pakistan and other countries have been crossing into Europe via TurkeyBy Reha Kansara, Samrah Fatima & Jasmin DyerBBC Trending, BBC Urdu & BBC Newsnight"There is nothing to be worried about. Whether they're 12 or 18 years old, we take guys of these ages too."

A people smuggler in Quetta, who arranges illegal routes out of Pakistan, is explaining his business model to an undercover BBC journalist. For 2.5m Pakistani rupees ($9000; £7,500), a young man can arrive in Europe "safe and sound" in approximately three weeks, he says, by crossing the border into Iran on foot and then travelling by road via Turkey to Italy. His tone is reassuring.

"He should keep snacks. He should definitely carry good quality shoes, and two or three sets of clothes. That's it. He can buy water from Quetta. He will call upon reaching Quetta and a guy will come and receive him."

The smuggler - Azam - claims hundreds of migrants cross the Pakistan border into Iran every day. He downplays the risks to our reporter, who is posing as a man wanting to bring his brother to the UK.

With inflation soaring in the country and the Pakistani rupee plummeting in value, many people are looking to move. Pakistani authorities have told the BBC nearly 13,000 people left Pakistan to go to Libya or Egypt in the first six months of 2023, compared with close to 7,000 in the whole of 2022.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66984050?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

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