They do it with containers: examining fatalities of transnational human smuggling and evaluating the modus operandi via multimodal transportation

This paper examines global patterns of Transnational Human Smuggling through container boxes. The dataset compiled for this study analyzes known global cases of fatal incidents in containers from 2000 to 2024, with a total of 1,824 smuggled persons found either (a) dead, (b) unhealthy/injured, or (c) alive and relatively healthy. 3. It provides a comprehensive study on how smugglers obtain lucrative fees for transporting persons on perilous, often deadly voyages. An originally compiled dataset demonstrates the primary global smuggling routes while addressing (i) the type of containers that smugglers use over time, (ii) the transport mode (i.e., land and sea), (iii) the ethnicity of smugglers vs. smuggled persons, (iv) statistics of persons found alive, sick, injured, or dead, and (v) death causes of smuggled groups. While human smuggling in maritime containers represents a small percentage of the illegitimate flows at U.S. borders, its significance cannot be overstated as it poses increased health and safety risks to travelers. This paper highlights the critical smuggling-related security vulnerabilities of sea and land containerized commerce. Furthermore, this study focuses on persons smuggled in containers, hence excluding undocumented migrants entering national borders on foot. Smugglers use various modes of transportation to move people illegally, but the use of containers is particularly noteworthy. Containers are secured from the outside and transported through highly monitored hubs. Unfortunately, the smuggled individuals cannot open these containers from the inside, making them highly susceptible to harsh weather conditions or abandonment by smugglers if they are alerted of approaching authorities. In such instances, the smuggled individuals are often left to perish.