Posted on 09/25/2022 6:29:49 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A people smuggler says the UK government's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is no deterrent for his customers. Jane Corbin meets him at his base in Turkey.
Night is falling as I make my way up the creaking stairs of a safe house in an anonymous alleyway in Istanbul, Turkey. I'm here to meet a kingpin in the people-smuggling trade - it has taken months to arrange, working through a trusted intermediary. It is the culmination of a BBC Panorama investigation into how thousands of migrants end up on the beaches of southern England claiming asylum.
The people smuggler is from the Middle East - young and softly spoken, smartly dressed in black. He has agreed to tell me about his business if we do not reveal his identity. His bodyguards discreetly keep watch outside the house.
I challenge him that smuggling people is illegal: "I know this is not legal," he says, "but for me it's about humanity - that's worth more than the law. We help people, we treat them well, we respect women - we don't disrespect or hurt anyone."
Nearly 2,000 people died in the Mediterranean Sea last year.
In April, the UK government signed a £120m deal with Rwanda to send some migrants, mostly single men, to Africa to have their asylum claims processed.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
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