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“These tin boats can be welded together in 24 hours. They are not really seaworthy. A little swell – and they go down,” says Frontex boss Hans Leijtens of the German news agency. The new strategy is very profitable for the human trafficking gangs. “Because the boats are so cheap, they can offer lower prices.” Instead of paying 1,500 to 2,000 euros for the crossing on a larger ship, the migrants paid 500 euros for the riskier crossing on a tin boat.
According to the Frontex boss, this new strategy of the smuggling gangs could be responsible for the huge increase in the number of irregular border crossings across the Central Mediterranean. In the period from January to April, Frontex recorded 42,165 such cases on this route – from Libya and Tunisia to Italy and Malta. That was almost three times as much as in the same period last year.
According to Leitjens, the departures from Tunisia have skyrocketed. This is a tenfold increase compared to the first four months of 2022. Leijtens expects the migration flow via Tunisia to increase in the coming months. “This is going to be a very hot summer.”
(SDA)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
