Contrasting the Business of Smuggling Migrants: A Managerial Approach

This article deals with the contrast to the criminal organizations that support the smuggling of illegal immigrants along the Central Mediterranean route. The purpose of the article is to show why and how the knowledge of the business of the criminal organizations that deal with human smuggling is useful to set up the appropriate strategies to contrast them. Management theories provide useful insights for prosecutors and should be adopted as investigative tools; they will prove especially useful when investigative cooperation between different countries is needed to tackle transnational crime. The methodology adopted is based on two case studies, based on the investigative proceedings conducted by the State Police under the direction and coordination of the Public Prosecutor Office in Palermo (Italy), concerning two criminal networks that smuggle migrants in the Central Mediterranean route (“Glauco 1”, “Glauco 2”, “Glauco 3” and “Glauco 4” and “Scorpion fish”). The results are that the business model canvas, which is a theoretical construct developed by management research, provides insights for procutors on the two case-studies and should be adopted as an investigative tool. Preliminary feedback on the ongoing research have been encouraging: the Working Group on fostering international cooperation and investigative strategies in fighting the smuggling of migrants, organized by the European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC) of the Council of Europe has provided useful comments and remarks on our preliminary research. This article recommends the applications of this toolset and fosters managerial studies towards finding more refined instruments in support to fighting crime.