“Fly Boxes” …How Smugglers Use Social Media to Lure Their Victims

Sudanhorizon – Hipa abdalazeem

“We are not the only ones but the best by far. Ladies and gentlemen, our trips continue every day from Port Sudan, taking only 12 hours to Aswan. Our trips come with many features, huge discounts, very competitive prices, and new, comfortable vehicles. We offer Prado and pickup trucks. Features of the trip include a network stop three hours before Aswan, where you can rest and connect with your family in Sudan and those waiting for you in Aswan. Our motto is precision + safety + comfort.”
These enticing phrases, found on various Facebook pages, are used by human traffickers to lure Sudanese travellers fleeing the horrors of war in their homeland to Egypt. The Sudan Horizon news site has identified ten pages specialising in promoting travel via what is known as “Fly Boxes” or (Sumbuk—meaning boat) desert.

Despite the enticing promotion of travel to Egypt by Sudanese human traffickers, out of at least thirty-five people who relied on smugglers to enter Egypt, only five safely reached Cairo, avoiding major incidents. The others suffered various forms of torment during the journey. Some lost family members or companions due to falling from speeding vehicles, while others had their vehicles broken down and were left in the desert for over three days. Some died of thirst or heatstroke, and others were involved in accidents due to excessive speed and loss of control.

The reporter managed to interview three of the most notorious Sudanese smugglers to Egypt, who were willing to answer questions. The interviews began on Messenger and moved to WhatsApp at their request. The three smugglers are prominent in promoting their trips on specialised travel pages to Egypt and are linked by a network of family ties and business partnerships. One said, “As drivers, we have WhatsApp groups to exchange information about trips, vehicle movements, and road conditions.” They are well-informed about all trips due to their extensive network of contacts and partners in the field. The smugglers agreed that since October of the previous year, around 50 vehicles per day were entering Egyptian borders, each carrying about 22 passengers, totalling approximately 1,100 migrants daily. This number has decreased since June 2024, with around 700 migrants per week, translating to approximately 31 vehicles moving weekly.
The “Sudanhorizon” news site has reported on numerous Facebook pages where human traffickers boldly advertise their services, promising safe, comfortable, and speedy trips. These traffickers openly provide their contact details and promote their operations with enticing promises. For instance, one trafficker posted his contact information on Facebook, assuring a safe journey to border cities like Aswan or even Cairo. The reporter contacted this trafficker, referred to as “Al-Rashidi,” who claimed that they offer services to Sudanese travellers fleeing the conflict in their regions. Al-Rashidi stated that their services are cheaper than security clearance fees, which can reach up to $2,000 per person. He says they work in groups to assist war refugees in entering and settling in a safe country.
The vehicles transporting Sudanese migrants depart from specific areas in the Northern River Nile and the Red Sea. The cost per passenger ranges between $195 and $300 to reach the Sudanese-Egyptian border and then to an area known as “The Crushers” near Aswan.
Legal Violation:
Islam Taj Al-Sir, former legal advisor at the Sudan Cyber Crimes Department, tells “Sudan Horizon” that using social media to commit, facilitate, or promote human trafficking is a clear violation of the Sudanese Cyber Crimes Law. The 2018 amendment of the 2020 law states in Article (31): “Anyone who uses or facilitates the use of information networks, communications, or any of their applications to commit or facilitate the commission of human trafficking crimes, or to promote them, shall be punished with imprisonment for up to fifteen years, or with a fine, or with both penalties.
Islam Taj Al-Sir, former legal advisor at the Sudan Cyber Crimes Department, explains that using social media to commit or facilitate crimes or promote them exacerbates such crimes’ dangers and severity. The reach of these platforms far exceeds the limited scope of traditional criminal activities. The 2020 amendments to the law aimed to address this by increasing penalties, including extending the punishment for human trafficking from ten to fifteen years. Taj Al-Sir also points out that promoting crimes through social media can gradually reduce the public’s condemnation of such activities and normalise them, leading to societal changes in ethics and public morals.
Definition of Human Trafficking
According to Article (3), Paragraph (a) of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea, and Air, which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, human smuggling is defined as the illegal entry of a person into a state where the person is not a national or permanent resident, to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or material benefit. Paragraph (b) defines “illegal entry” as crossing the border without adhering to the conditions for legal entry into the receiving state. Article (5) of the same protocol specifies that migrants are not subject to criminal prosecution under this protocol.
Views from Experts
Colonel (retired) Awad El-Sayed Jabara, who managed the Human Trafficking Department at the Sudanese Ministry of Interior until 2022, believes that both Sudan and Egypt might be complicit in these violations. He suggests that Egypt turns a blind eye to illegal entry. Sudan also participates by allowing its citizens to use smuggling routes to Egypt without passing through official border crossings. Jabara defines unlawful entry as “any entry into a country without a visa issued by the host country’s authorities, conducted by human traffickers for financial gain or any other benefit,” and expresses surprise at the open promotion of this illegal trade on social media.
Law Enforcement Challenges
The Northern State Anti-Smuggling Department confirms that they have not received any directives from the Sudanese Police Headquarters to address the issue of human trafficking to Egypt. A source from the department, who wished to remain anonymous, stated, “We monitor all human trafficking activities, including their public announcements of Sudanese migration trips to the Egyptian border via Facebook and WhatsApp groups. Their boldness surprises us, as they operate from markets within cities, sometimes moving up to five vehicles in one hour, each carrying no fewer than 22 people to the Egyptian border.” The source added, “Currently, we do not have instructions from the Police Headquarters to stop this activity or the active traffickers.”
Egyptian Authorities’ Stance
Former Egyptian security officer Hatem Saber rejects the idea that Egyptian authorities ignore human trafficking activities. He tells “Sudan Horizon” that the Egyptian government does not overlook any activities threatening national security. The Egyptian state has been actively combating illegal immigration for years and continues to track and combat smuggling gangs to protect national security. Saber acknowledges that Sudanese authorities’ performance may be affected by the ongoing crisis in Sudan but notes that there is security coordination between Egyptian and Sudanese authorities to combat smuggling and human trafficking.

Sudanese security expert Tariq Mohamed Ali attributes the proliferation of this smuggling activity to the deteriorating performance of law enforcement due to the ongoing conflict. He warns that the risks associated with human trafficking could escalate to include the smuggling of weapons, military equipment, gold, expired food, and drugs.
Case Studies of Victims
Narayman Hassan lost her mother and younger brother in a tragic accident while attempting to enter Egypt through smuggling routes. Narayman, 20, recounts the incident: “We decided to leave Wad Madani in the Gezira state after the Rapid Support Forces overran it. We went to Gedaref at the end of December last year, and from there, my mother and I travelled to Halfa to apply for a visa to Egypt through the consulate. By April, we had not heard anything about our visa status and could not afford the security approvals.”
She continues, “We decided to travel via ‘Fly Boxes’. I contacted a driver who had left his phone number on a page advertising ‘safe’ trips. We were told to arrive at the departure point in Abu Hamad around 5:30 p.m. because the trip would start at 7 p.m. The vehicle departed from Abu Hamad at a speed of 150 km/h, and the driver was only about 17 years old. We were tied with ropes, with our legs outside the truck and our bodies inside. After four hours, I saw my mother and younger brother being thrown into the air and falling outside the truck when it hit a large rock in the darkness.”
Despite pleas and screams from passengers, the driver refused to stop and initially refused to allow the deceased (my mother, my brother, and two other passengers) to be buried, citing the urgency to reach the Egyptian driver waiting on the other side of the border. Eventually, under the pressure of passengers and Narayman’s cries, he agreed. “By the time we could bury them, it was midnight, and all I could hear was the howl of wolves. We were in a desert area surrounded by mountains,” Narayman recalls, sobbing hysterically as she recalls the moment that changed her life forever.
According to the United Nations, over 10 million Sudanese have been displaced since the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces began on April 15, 2023. Approximately two million have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, with the UNHCR in Egypt reporting about 450,000 registered Sudanese refugees.
Amar Ali, 46, a graphic designer, was forced to use smuggling routes to enter Egypt due to the war disrupting his children’s education. He had waited more than five months for a visa. “From Kassala to the Egyptian border, we hired a truck for 2,600,000 Sudanese pounds, equivalent to $2,300, through a smuggler who advertised his number on Facebook. The ‘Khazina’ is a point between the Northern State border and the Egyptian border where Sudanese and Egyptian traffickers exchange. Our journey took 36 hours from Khazina to an area called the Crushers inside Egypt. My family and I faced numerous dangers and spent a fortune to reach Cairo.”
Legal Framework and Responses
Egyptian rights advocate Ashraf Milad explains that if these migrants seek asylum, they should present themselves to the nearest Egyptian authority. Article 31 of the Geneva Refugee Convention states that they should not face penalties, and Egypt respects this principle. Additionally, Law No. 22 of 2022 amended some provisions of the 2016 Anti-Illegal Immigration and Human Trafficking Law to combat illegal immigration and protect the most vulnerable groups, including youth, children, and families, while imposing stricter measures and penalties on traffickers and smugglers.
Article 6 of the Egyptian law states that those convicted of human trafficking or attempting to do so will face stringent imprisonment and fines ranging from 200,000 to 500,000 Egyptian pounds or a fine equal to the benefit gained, whichever is greater.