Reha Kansara, Shruti Menon & Mohammad Zubair Khan BBC Verify
In January, a migrant boat was rescued off the north African coast after 14 harrowing days lost at sea. Some 50 people died on the voyage, many of whom were lied to by people smugglers promising safe and legal routes to Europe. BBC Verify has tracked one of the traffickers responsible – documenting his activities across three continents.
Punjabi rap music plays over a video showing three men at a beachside restaurant in Mauritania’s capital Nouakchott. One after the other, they smile at the camera before casually turning to talk and laugh together.
The three are clearly friends. Two of them, Sufian Ali and Atif Shahzad, are cousins from rural Pakistan.
But it’s the third man in particular who dominates the conversation. He’s Fadi Gujjar, a people smuggler.
The video – posted to Gujjar’s TikTok account – is one of more than 450 clips analyzed by BBC Verify that reveal clues about his activities and his close relationship to the other men.
Within a month of this video being posted online, Ali and Shahzad were dead – beaten to death on the boat journey sold to them by Gujjar, who promised a safe route into Europe.
Meanwhile, Gujjar found himself on the run, wanted by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for his role in the tragedy.
When BBC Verify contacted him on a phone number obtained from survivors, Gujjar said repeatedly in a series of voice notes his name had been “misused” by survivors in connection with the disaster and that he was leaving it all in the hands of Allah.
BBC Verify contacts the people smuggler, Fadi Gujjar
Fadi, the nomad smuggler
Fadi Gujjar is from Jaurah in Pakistan’s Punjab region. In his 30s, his real name is Khawar Hassan – though he also goes by Bishi Gujjar.
Pakistani smugglers the BBC has previously reported on have tended to boastfully advertise illegal routes to Europe online.
But Gujjar is careful. His online presence is limited to highly edited videos of his travels and almost all clients BBC Verify identified are local to Jaurah. Advertisements for his services seem to spread by word of mouth.
His current location on Facebook is set to Istanbul, Turkey – an oasis for smugglers looking to make a quick buck. Videos posted to TikTok place him in the city since July 2022, showing the smuggler outside the iconic Hagia Sophia and a Pakistani supermarket.
One other location stands out: Mauritania on West Africa’s Atlantic coast – the nerve-center of his operation and the place from which the migrant boat started its perilous journey.
Since 2023, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says Mauritania has become a hub for people smuggling – spurred on by a crackdown on other routes.
The route is deadly. IOM data shows that 170 people – including 14 children – have died or gone missing on it this year.
Migrant boats travel from Mauritania to the Canary Islands which are part of Spain and the European Union.
Many Pakistanis seeking economic opportunities in Europe are willing to take the risk. Life there is glorified online by migrants already living on the continent. Smugglers like Gujjar, whose lucrative business is fueled by people’s aspirations, take advantage of this.
These migrants are taking a gamble, using their families’ savings or selling up to make the journey. The survivors we spoke to, on average, say they paid Gujjar $13,000 (£10,000).
There are no direct flights from Pakistan to Mauritania, so some of the migrants transited through Ethiopia or the Middle East. From there, almost all of them went on to Senegal, before crossing into Mauritania, either by road or a short boat journey along the Senegal River.
Gujjar’s travel history – obtained by BBC Verify through a source – showed the smuggler followed a similar route, entering Dakar airport in Senegal on two occasions in 2024.
Multiple videos also place him in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott from October 2024 – though the date of upload could differ to when they were filmed.
Further clips, posted to TikTok by Ali and Shahzad place Gujjar in Mauritania as early as August 2024. The trio are seen on the rooftops of Nouakchott’s sand-colored buildings and in restaurants around the city – a luxury other migrants couldn’t afford.
Videos from their accounts reveal the men were close, hailing from the same village. Their uncle, Ahsan Shahzad Chaudhry, confirmed to BBC Verify that his nephew Sufian Ali was friends with Gujjar.
Backtracking on promises
One survivor named Uzair Bhat said Gujjar falsely promised him safe and legal routes to Europe. He sent BBC Verify proof of funds transferred to a bank account under Gujjar’s real name, Khawar Hassan.
But when Uzair arrived in Mauritania, the smuggler backtracked.
“He said going by air will not work from here. I’ll send you by a big ship,” Uzair recalled. “Please cooperate, your visa [to Europe] won’t come through.”
Eventually Uzair relented.
As well as Ali, Shahzad, and Uzair, BBC Verify identified two other migrants who bought journeys from Gujjar.
Once they arrived in Nouakchott they say they were placed in “safe houses” – a term used for buildings tucked away in obscure alleys where migrants are held illegally by smugglers.
One person who used a different agent said he also stayed in safe houses run by Gujjar.
BBC Verify confirmed the location of one to an area near the port of Nouakchott, which survivors say Gujjar occasionally visited. Reha Kansara, Shruti Menon y Mohammad Zubair Khan La mayoría de los que estaban a bordo compraron el pasaje a contrabandistas en sus ciudades natales de Pakistán.
Pero el viaje de tres días se convirtió en un peligroso viaje de dos semanas a la deriva en el mar.
Uzair dijo que desde el día en que salieron del puerto, los migrantes “estaban constantemente sacando agua del barco”. Otro hombre, Bilalwal Iqbal, recordó que pronto los pasajeros empezaron a “beber agua de mar y después de beberla, la gente se volvía delirante”.
Según los sobrevivientes, la tripulación a bordo – africanos occidentales empleados por los contrabandistas – privaron de comida y agua a los migrantes paquistaníes, y los golpeaban diariamente.
“Intenté tomar una de sus botellas de agua, así que me golpearon en la cabeza con una cuerda y el impacto me hizo caer hacia atrás,” dijo Iqbal a BBC Verify. “Luego me golpearon los pulgares con un martillo. Todavía tengo esas heridas.”
Sufian Ali y Atif Shahzad murieron después de ser golpeados hasta la muerte por la tripulación, dijo su tío. Fue informado de las circunstancias que rodearon sus muertes por los sobrevivientes.
Otros murieron de hambre, deshidratación e hipotermia.
Los que aún estaban vivos, incluida la tripulación, se dieron por vencidos hasta que vieron un barco pesquero mucho más grande entrar en su campo de visión. Uzair Bhat saltó al océano y nadó hacia él en busca de ayuda.
La guardia costera instruyó al barco a llevar el bote de los migrantes al puerto de Dakhla – a 60 millas de distancia. Según la OIM, se encontraron 15 cadáveres a bordo mientras que 35 personas siguen desaparecidas en el mar y se presume que están muertas.
Las autoridades paquistaníes han nombrado a Gujjar como uno de los diez contrabandistas involucrados en la tragedia. Algunos han sido arrestados, pero no Gujjar.
BBC Verify geolocalizó sus publicaciones más recientes en TikTok en Bakú, Azerbaiyán – aunque no podemos afirmar con certeza si todavía está allí.
Desde que se dio a conocer la noticia del rescate, su madre y uno de sus hermanos han sido detenidos en Pakistán, acusados de recolectar dinero en nombre de Gujjar de personas que compraban rutas a Europa.
BBC Verify también ha visto seis informes policiales presentados en Punjab por las familias de los que iban en el barco. Alegan que Gujjar cobró $75,000 (£56,000) por su papel en el desastre de enero. Tres personas pagaron en su totalidad, mientras que las otras tres solo pagaron depósitos, según los informes policiales.
Creemos que Gujjar seguía facilitando viajes a Europa después del desastre del barco en enero.
Contactado por un reportero encubierto de la BBC en marzo usando un número de teléfono obtenido de los sobrevivientes, Gujjar dijo que “conocía a alguien” que ayudaría a organizar un viaje, pero no ofreció directamente involucrarse él mismo.
Reportaje adicional de Dilay Yaçin, Javed Sumroo y Joshua Cheetham.
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