Europe at war with 30,000 migrant smugglers who prey on desperate refugees

With the world still reeling from images of a drowned Syrian boy, European authorities say it is their top priority to fight an army of an estimated 30,000 people-smuggling suspects blamed for such tragedies.

Officials say the deadly business that may be worth billions of dollars is preying on the sheer desperation of growing numbers of people fleeing war and poverty in places like Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Somalia.

Smugglers belonging to loose networks are increasingly using social media, well-organised routes and ruthless tactics to bring waves of refugees and migrants to Europe.

But there is new urgency in the wake of cases such as the death of three-year-old Syrian Aylan Kurdi - found lifeless on a Turkish beach after the smuggling boat carrying his family to Greece sank in the Aegean Sea - and the deaths of 71 people in an airless van on an Austrian highway.

“It is the top priority for sure, not only for Europol but for all member states,” Robert Crepinko, head of the organised crime network at the European Union’s police agency Europol, said.