Virtually every country in the world is used by profit-seeking criminals for smuggling migrants—either as a country of origin, a transit country or a country of destination (or a combination thereof). Smuggled migrants are vulnerable to exploitation and their lives are often put at risk: thousands of people have suffocated in containers, perished in deserts or drowned at sea while being smuggled to another country. The smuggling of migrants and
the activities related to it generate enormous profits for the criminals involved and fuel corruption and organized crime.