This snapshot seeks to better understand the role of state or public officials (police, military, accommodation or detention centre staff or visa, passport or other immigration officials), within the process of smuggling, by examining the types of officials, their countries and their activities. It draws upon interviews conducted with smugglers and with refugees and migrants in Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali, Niger and Tunisia.

This snapshot is produced in the context of a partnership with the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Observatory on Smuggling of Migrants.