The price of smuggling a person on a dangerous, overcrowded boat from Libya to Malta is around €6,000, according to “sensitive” intelligence about the illegal operations.

Pictures taken from EU patrol planes circling the Mediterranean reveal another disturbing practice: migrants are given inner tubes from car tyres to use as makeshift life jackets.  

The intelligence circulated among EU officials says boats are often overcrowded for smugglers to maximise their profits.

Smaller boats with a capacity of five to 10 are often filled with 30-40 people, while larger vessels can be filled with over 800.

The intelligence and pictures are part of a cache of documents leaked from the European External Action Service, the EU’s diplomatic service.  

These documents were obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and shared with Times of Malta and other media partners.  They also reveal how Malta "refuses" to respond. 

Smuggling networks in Libya, where many of the migrants depart from, are well-established.  

These criminal networks provide “tailored services” to migrants, which can include the provision of fraudulent documents, air travel from their country of origin, accommodation en-route and the sea journey into the EU.  

Fraudulent documents are often a part of migrant smuggling business models, especially in case of facilitation by air.

The fees paid by migrants can vary depending on the type of boat used and whether smuggling packages include facilitation from the country of origin.  

Smuggling packages that include fraudulent documents are often more expensive because they offer a safer method of transportation, give the appearance of a legal movement and require more resources from smugglers.

So-called “brokers” even dupe migrants into believing they will be given a job once they reach their destination country.  

Most migrants from Bangladesh leave their country believing they will be following a legal route to the promised job. 

Once the migrants find themselves in Middle Eastern countries and realise their journey is not legal, they may either be approached by criminals or seek support to continue their journeys towards Libya and Europe, the intelligence says.  

Another intelligence bulletin warns smugglers are not afraid to use violence against migrants or law enforcement officials.

Rahf Alhossain, 7, who died at Mater Dei Hospital, her father, Morhaf, mother, Login, and six-year-old sister Noor. Photos: Alhossain Family

‘They have no mercy’  

Morhaf, father of seven-year-old Rahf Alhossain, described to Times of Malta the boat that carried his family on the crossing as “crowded” and with no life jackets.  

Rahf Alhossain died in Mater Dei Hospital last month after receiving treatment following a heart attack on board by the NGO boat that rescued her.

He said he paid €22,000 to take his family to Europe but the smugglers abandoned the boat during the trip, transferring to a separate boat while handing the passengers a compass and a satellite phone. 

But when one of their engines broke down, the smuggler did not offer to rescue them, instead offering to send a Libyan patrol boat to retrieve them – an option rejected by passengers who feared being taken to a Libyan jail where Alhossain said prisoners are charged €2,500 to be released.  

“We stayed for 20 hours on the exhausted boat until the Viking [SOS Méditerranée] ship rescued us. They [the smugglers] have no mercy; they care about money and they don’t care about people’s lives,” he said. 

Commenting on the prisons used to house migrants forced to return to Libya, which Alhossain and his family were sent to twice after two failed crossings, he described poor conditions.  

“The treatment was bad, especially for the men – they take everything from them... If a person stays in prison for a month, he will get sick and suffer from depression because they are not clean,” he said, adding the prisons appeared to have been used to house animals in the past.  

Alhossain said he contacted the smugglers through a representative from Syria who claimed on Facebook to be living in Switzerland after travelling to Europe with the smugglers. 

A screenshot of the alleged representative’s Facebook page sent to Times of Malta – the page’s privacy settings prevent it from being viewed by unconnected accounts – appears to show it advertising the crossings. 

One post, “regarding our method of travel and our method of work” says: “we have nothing to do with the prison bill... if you are caught, we will deduct half the amount. But so far, God willing, we haven’t had a case like that. All our boats are fast.”