AGADEZ CROSSER - NIGER

CLANDESTINITY WATCH EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY

CASE FILE AGADEZ CROSSER CASE NAME

CASE

#

001 - 7109 - 01

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH EXTRA UE DIVISION - NIGER OFFICE

OBJECT TYPE CONTEXT OF RECOVERY PRESUMED FUNCTION PRESUMED OWNER

SHOPPING BAG

001-7109-01 FILE NAME

AGADEZ CROSSER

EVIDENCE LOG

LUGGAGE

CASE NUMBER

GARMENT

OTHER

LOCATION OF RECOVERY

DATE OF RECOVERY

TIME OF RECOVERY

Agadez bus station

12.05.15

8.50 am

The item was found in the bus station of Agadez, village in the middle of the deser tic area of Teneré, Niger. The owner presumably left the item there during the da y to mark the space he will occupy at night, where he is sleeping ro ugh in the wait for the n ext bus going north.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS SEE APPENDIX A.

Device aimed at containing personal items on truck-based trans portation through the Sahara desert.

In specific, the item is supposed to have been used to manage the distribution of bribes and gifts to corrupted officers at both authorised and illegal checkpoints, in exchange for permission to continue the journey through Niger to Lybia.

LAST PERSON WHO HAS BEEN NOTICED NEAR THE AREA OF RECOVERY / ITEM

- man, subsaharan, age 25-30, about 170 cm tall dark brown jacket, jeans, yellow tagelmust.

SIGNATURE

PERSON REPORTING

FOR FURTHER DETAILS SEE APPENDIX B.

THE ITEM HAS BEEN DISCOVERED BY AN OFFICIER

YES

see a.

NO

a.ID NUMBER

002-XDNLS

b.NAME

ADDRESS

see b.

DISTRIBUTION: (ORIGINAL TO RECORDS)

X

ADMIN

INVESTIGATIONS

THIS REPORT IS CONFIDENTIAL AND FOR UFFICIAL USE ONLY

OTHER

CLANDESTINITY WATCH EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY

TECHNICAL PACKAGE 001 - 7109 - 01

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH EXTRA UE DIVISION - NIGER OFFICE

AGADEZ CROSSER

C 00 .0 40

OVERALL APPEARENCE OF THE ITEM

00 .0 30 00 .0 20

CANVAS SACK

A

RATCHET LASHING STRAPS

001-7109-01 FILE NAME

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

WOODEN SEAT

CASE NUMBER

B

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH EXTRA UE DIVISION - NIGER OFFICE

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

MARKER NUMBER

A

ITEM NAME

CASE NUMBER

001-7109-01 FILE NAME

AGADEZ CROSSER

ITEM APPEARENCE

ratchet lashing

Heavy-duty ratchet straps, generally used to secure

straps

heavy loads to trucks.

They are here used as a af stening system,keeping the the bag underneath tightly rolled up and securing the posi tion of the seat on the top of it.

B

canvas sack

Thick canvas bag, probably obtained from the assembly of several bulk rice sacks.

A print has been applied on its surface: - graduated line indicating CFA francs (west African currency) - indication “baksheesh bag ” (being baksheesh an Arabic term indicat ing a payment, as a tip or bribe, to expedite a service or obtain a more fa vourable treatment) - series of currency conversions and estimated value of common personal items (the ones indicated could represent the most popular items accepted by officers as an alternative to money payments)

C

wooden seat

DIY seat obtained from weaving of natu ral fibre. The presence of a seat sug gests the item is being loaded on the top of the truck and kept close to the owner, who is allegedly sitting on it.

Migrant trucks in fact are common com mercial vehicles, not fitted with seats since they haven’t been designed to ac commodate people.

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM

CASE NUMBER

001-7109-01

EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH EXTRA UE DIVISION - NIGER OFFICE

FILE NAME

AGADEZ CROSSER

TECHNICAL PACKAGE MEASUREMENTS MEASUREMENTS

440

C F A FRANCS

380

160

1650

14

00

TOP VIEW SCALE 1:10 MEASURES EXPRESSED IN MM

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH EXTRA UE DIVISION - NIGER OFFICE

TECHNICAL PACKAGE

CASE NUMBER

001-7109-01 FILE NAME

AGADEZ CROSSER

ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS

C F A FRANCS

THE RATCHET STRAP IS STITCHED TO THE TOP OF THE BAG. WHEN WRAPPED, IT WORKS AS A FASTENING SYSTEM.

THE SEAT IS TIED WITH A PORTION OF THE STRIP AND STITCHED TO THE MAIN PART, CREATING A UNIQUE PIECE THAT CONNECTS ALL ELEMENTS.

A DOUBLE HEMSTITCH SEALS THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG. THE FINISHING RECALLS BULK RICE / MAIZE BAGS.

TOP VIEW

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH EXTRA UE DIVISION - NIGER OFFICE

STORYBOARD OF USE

50.000 40.000

00 .0 40

30.000

00 .0 30

20.000

00 .0 20

FM AM

CHECK POINT 00 .0 40

SLOW DOWN

30 .0 00

20 .0 00

FM AM

ECONOMIC VALUE

AM

FM

4500 CFA

CASE NUMBER

001-7109-01 FILE NAME

AGADEZ CROSSER

CLANDESTINITY WATCH EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY

FIELD RESEARCH AGADEZ, NIGER

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH EXTRA UE DIVISION - NIGER OFFICE

Agadez

001-7109-01 FILE NAME

AGADEZ CROSSER

FIELD RESEARCH

ITEM NAME

CASE NUMBER

DESCRIPTION

Desert city of Agadez, Niger, is the gate to the Saharan basin for the main routes coming from West Africa, and capital of the cross-border Tuareg tribes. It has emerged as crucial node in the international migration.

With the increasing volume of trans-Saharan mobility, Agadez has become a hub for migration traffic of international dimensions, a continental dispatch center. While migration is the prevailing mode of mobility, it is not an isolated phenomenon. In the Saharan basin, migration flows intersect with other forms of organized mobility such as seasonal nomadic movements, tourism, roaming martial formations including rebel or terrorist groups, commuting uranium miners and engineers, the temporary appearance of migration-related humanitarian personnel and, not least, the writers, journalists and image-makers.

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH EXTRA UE DIVISION - NIGER OFFICE

Baksheesh

001-7109-01 FILE NAME

AGADEZ CROSSER

FIELD RESEARCH

ITEM NAME

CASE NUMBER

DESCRIPTION

A small sum of money given as alms, a tip, or a bribe.

A term which comes from a Persian word meaning “present.” In Middle, Near Eastern and many African countries, it is an integral part of daily life. Travelers to the Middle and Near East should plan on carrying small bills to make the distribution of baksheesh — and their subsequent journey — much more enjoyable.

Baksheesh can have different meanings: giving of alms or charity, tipping in response to a service rendered.

Baksheesh is also used to get favors, or as an outright bribe. In contexts where corruption is widespread, government employees use this money to support their minimal government income. These employees are often quite open about their requests for baksheesh, and will quote visitors a direct amount that it will cost to pass through customs without inspection, get through a heavily controlled border, or receive some other service.

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH EXTRA UE DIVISION - NIGER OFFICE

Stranded

001-7109-01 FILE NAME

AGADEZ CROSSER

FIELD RESEARCH

ITEM NAME

CASE NUMBER

DESCRIPTION

Term specifically used to indicate migrants who are “trapped in transit”. Due to the high number of extra fees and bribes that needs to be paid, in adding to the cost of the travel and of the smugglers facilitating it, many migrants run out of money. They are forced to stop on their journey toards Europe, whenever they are unable to satisfy the money required at a checkpoint. They usually remain trapped in towns or villages in the middle of the Sahara, where there is no other mean of transport apart from the overloaded migrants trucks. Those people are forced to accept very humble work from locals inhabitants, that pay them minimum wages barely covering their minimum survival needs. Without an external finalncial help, it takes them months, years, before collecting enough money to continue their journey.