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Number of illegal crossings in the Balkans drops, French police: African gangs operate with the blessing of Albanian smugglers
2025-04-16 09:01:40 / AKTUALITET
Irregular border crossings in the European Union fell by 31 percent in the first quarter of 2025 to 33,600, figures published by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.
The largest drop in irregular entries was the Western Balkans route, with 64 percent fewer in the same period in 2024. This is mainly attributed to the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Area on January 1 of this year.
As a result, more border guards have been deployed and they have apparently been successful in controlling the borders. Frontex also said there was a 'significant' drop in migrants crossing the Central Mediterranean in March. This was due to storms that hit Italy in the second half of the month.
On March 13, Frontex released figures stating that in the first two months of 2025, the Central Mediterranean route had seen a 48 percent increase over a similar period in 2024, with nearly 7,000 migrants crossing. The majority of this number came from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Syria.
It is therefore likely that the true number of irregular entries into Europe this year is higher than the Frontex figures as they only refer to detected entries. How many migrants have disembarked undetected by the authorities?
The gangs' determination matches that of migrants desperate to reach Europe and, more often, Britain. So far this year, more than 8,000 have managed to cross the Channel – despite the fact that police have broken up ten smuggling rings in the first three months of 2025 and dismantled 22 rings in 2024.
French police have noticed the emergence of a new phenomenon in recent months: gangs that are '100 percent African' but operate with the blessing of Albanian and Iraqi-Kurdish smugglers, who have dominated the illegal immigration trade for years.
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