NGOs (non-governmental organisations) appear in 1,058 documents held by EU border force Frontex as part of its anti-smuggling operation with Europol, the EU's police agency.
A freedom of access request, filed by EUobserver, revealed that Frontex had 1,058 debrief documents where the word "NGO" appears.
But Frontex refused to release any of those documents because they dealt with everything from migrant smuggling routes to "the involvement of facilitators and traffickers in human beings."
When queried, a Frontex spokesperson said the collected information supports criminal investigations in member states.
Asked if this included the named NGOs contained in the debriefing documents, he did not confirm or deny.
Gript will attempt to discover whether the Irish authorities have been asked to take part in the investigation, and whether NGOs based in Ireland will be investigated.
Frontex is not releasing the documents due to the sensitivity of the information which they reveal, including the identification of smuggling routes, as well as “the involvement of facilitators and traffickers in human beings.”
The facilitators presumably include the NGOs who are named.
Gript will attempt to discover whether the Irish authorities have been asked to take part in the investigation, and whether NGOs based in Ireland will be investigated.
Frontex told EU Observer that the intelligence gathered will form the basis of criminal investigations in member states, but would not confirm or deny whether NGOs named in the documents would be among the targets of such a criminal inquiry.