Libya’s smuggling routes move into the digital market

Libya’s role as a waypoint for migrant crossings toward Italy is being reinforced through simple digital advertising, private chats and staged payments, as reported by an investigation conducted by Il Tempo and published on May 1st.

At the centre of the report is the claim that departures from Libya are no longer promoted only through secret personal contacts or local criminal brokers, but through social media profiles that openly market routes across the Mediterranean.

To assure a passage across the Mediterranean it is sufficient to contact a number found on Facebook. The alleged facilitator is just interested in the location of the caller, the amount of money they possess as well as how long they are happy to wait, rather than identity documents.

Libya appears in the investigation as the main operational space, the departures are advertised from Tripoli, Benghazi and the western Libyan coast, with Italy presented both as a destination and as a gateway for subsequent movement into northern Europe.

According to the report, Facebook is used to publish contacts and offers, while TikTok is used to display routes, departures and images of boats. WhatsApp and Telegram then become the private channels where negotiations are then moved away from public view.

That makes Libya not only a geographical departure point, but part of a wider digital and logistical marketplace.

The report also points to a parallel market in false documents, including passports, identity cards, residence permits, driving licences and visas. Some online profiles allegedly display Italian documents or blank templates before they are filled in.

For Libya, the issue reflects the weakness of state control over migration routes, coastal areas and informal economies as smuggling networks are able to operate across physical territory and digital space, linking recruiters, drivers, handlers and document providers.

The broader implication is that Libya remains central to the Central Mediterranean route, but its role is changing as it is becoming the physical hub of a business model that is marketed, negotiated and coordinated online.

Il Tempo, Maghrebi.org