Smugglers took up to $509 million in fees on Europe's sea routes last year, UNODC and IOM estimate

21 October 2026

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the UN migration agency IOM reported on 21 October 2026 that smuggling fees on sea routes to Europe reached between $388 and $509 million in 2025.
Around 190,000 to 209,000 people were smuggled along the four main sea routes in 2025.
The Central Mediterranean was the busiest route (84,000 to 100,400 people), followed by the Eastern Mediterranean (48,400 to 51,300).
The Northwest African Atlantic route to Spain's Canary Islands came third with 33,000, and the Western Mediterranean fourth with 24,500.
Smugglers received as little as $170 per person on the Atlantic route, while almost half of those heading to Italy or Malta paid over $7,500.
Among all departing on these routes in 2025, 3,404 lost their lives or were reported missing and 104,200 were intercepted at sea and returned.