Human smuggler: I get customers to sign a waiver
Türkçe Human smuggler: I get customers to sign a waiver
Jane Corbin
BBC Panorama
A human smuggler says the UK government's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is not a deterrent to its customers. Jane Corbin meets with him at his base in Turkey.
Night falls as he climbs the creaking stairs of a safe house in an anonymous alley in Istanbul, Turkey. I'm here to meet a king in the human trafficking trade - it took months to negotiate through a trusted agent. BBC Panorama is the culmination of an investigation into how thousands of migrants arrived on the coast of southern England to seek asylum.
The human smuggler hails from the Middle East - young and soft-spoken, smartly dressed in black. He's agreed to tell me about his business if we don't reveal his identity. His bodyguards are secretly guarding outside the house.
I challenge him that human trafficking is illegal: "I know it's illegal," he says, "but to me it's about humanity - it's more valuable than the law. We help people, do good to them. we treat women, we respect women - Don't disrespect anyone and don't hurt anyone."
About 2,000 people died in the Mediterranean last year.
In April, the UK government with Rwanda, mostly single men, has signed a £120m deal to send some migrants to Africa to process their asylum claims.
The government has said the aim is to shatter the business model of human smugglers and stop a record number of people making the dangerous English Channel crossing.
br>Just this year, more than 30,000 people crossed in small boats, just as much as last year.
Human smuggler sending hundreds of migrants to England. He quickly admits that his business is very profitable and says he manages it like a businessman.
"It doesn't matter whether it's a whole family or an individual - each person pays the same price," he says. "A trip to England will cost a total of $17,000 [approximately £15,000]."
Then how can it justify risking people's lives in dangerous sea crossings with flimsy boats?
"Accidents can happen. "We're trying to scare to deter," he says. "I say to them, 'This road is dangerous and it's not worth it. You could die. I'm telling his mom and dad too."
He shows us a form - a disclaimer that he says he gets customers to sign, accepting the risks.
Istanbul is the gateway between Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe and this black market trade is booming here.
Marketing is competition. On social media, smugglers offer different rates depending on the destination.
There are fake passports and British driver's licenses for sale. Even sample questions from British Home Office officials to prepare the migrants for the grid.
The human smuggler is gathering his clients in safe houses in this sprawling city that is home to nearly five million refugees. They are crammed into small rooms where they can wait for months while their passages are arranged. His gang brings them food and water from local supermarkets.
We put them in a house and wait for everything to be prepared. We pick up their phones when they're ready so the cops can't find out about us," explains the smuggler.
Later, the immigrants are taken to the mountains from Istanbul by getting on a minibus at night. In groups of six or ten, they march into the Mediterranean towards one of the smugglers' boats.
Bond to Greece or Italy.
