The smuggling of migrants is a global concern, with a large number of countries affected by it as origin, transit or destination points. Profit seeking criminals smuggle migrants across borders. Assessing the real size of this crime is a complex matter. We discussed this issue with Tuesday Reitano, Deputy Director of a Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, and as there are current challenges to European security and the rise of populist political movements, we spoke to Professor René Schowk, University of Geneva and Director of the Master of Advanced Studies in International and European studies at the Global Studies Institute at the University of Geneva in partnership with the GCSP’s Leadership in International Security Course.