Human traffickers are believed to have set the Ezadeen cargo ship on autopilot before abandoning it to continue at full speed across the Mediterranean with 359 illegal migrants on board. Experts say it is part of a new tactic that has emerged in recent months, with smugglers using old freighters to transport hundreds of people - mostly Syrian refugees - from Turkey to EU countries. Just days earlier, the Blue Sky M, carrying 970 people, was found adrift in Greek waters. Who are the people organising these perilous journeys - and what is being done to stop them? Organised crime Officials say the Ezadeen was carrying the Sierra Leone flag, while the Blue Sky M was sailing under a Moldovan flag. A previous case involved a freighter with the flag of Tonga, says Izabella Cooper, spokesperson for Europes border control agency, Frontex. But identifying the smugglers is not that straightforward. bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30715001
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 17:58:42 +0000
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