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DAKAR, Senegal (AP) - Africans migrating to Europe can turn to professional smugglers and even earn a free ticket by recruiting other passengers.
As Europe works harder to stop them, smugglers are taking on more importance. West African migrants used to fly there or travel across the Sahara Desert. Now they increasingly are taking to the sea, and they need help ranging from getting a forged visa to finding a fisherman who will cram his open boat with dozens of people and head for the Canary Islands, the Spanish gateway to the prosperous European Union.
Costs range from a few hundred dollars for the boat trip to thousands for a package that includes airline tickets and fake visas.
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