The Great Escape.(Al Qaeda terrorists escape Afghanistan)(Statistical Data Included)

Using airstrikes and commando raids, the United States says it's hoping to pin down Al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan. It had better hurry. In the past two months, according to people-smugglers in Pakistan, between 150 and 200 of the so-called Arab mujahedin who are Osama bin Laden's crack troops slipped out of Afghanistan through illegal channels. They say several Al Qaeda elements are currently traveling through Tajikistan or Uzbekistan to Ukraine-hoping eventually to arrive in Britain or Germany. "Each Arab fighter has paid between $20,000 and $30,000 to be smuggled out of Afghanistan," a professional people- smuggler in Peshawar, who uses the pseudonym Fekrat, told NEWSWEEK. "I've been trying to get ordinary Afghans and Pakistanis out the same way--but no one here can afford the trip."

Worldwide, the trafficking of illegal migrants is a $4 billion-a-year industry, nearly as profitable as drug and arms smuggling. But for decades the problem has languished far down on the food chain of law enforcement. No longer. The carnage of Sept. 11 served as a wake-up call for Western authorities, highlighting the fact that militants often resort to smuggling networks to get from point A to point B. "Now we're seeing illegal immigration as a terrorism concern," says a foreign diplomat in Islamabad. "Even people who emigrate legitimately-- doctors, lawyers, computer engineers--could have terrorist links. What about all those unknown people being smuggled in, who haven't gone through [immigration] procedures?"

With an estimated 500 people-smuggling outfits in Pakistan alone--and a ready population of desperate refugees from Afghanistan--Southwest Asia has in recent years boasted one of the world's most established and thriving illegal-migrant industries. In the bazaars of Peshawar, a veritable army of logisticians support the trade. These range from about 30 underground "travel agents" to innumerable document forgers, from innocuous portrait studios and photocopying shops to the go- betweens who buy visas from corrupt diplomats. Before Sept. 11 about 400 illegal immigrants per month would depart from Pakistan for various destinations. Many of the Afghans fly to Malaysia, which allows some Muslims to land without visas, and then make their way to Indonesia, where they board rickety boats bound for Australia. On Oct. 19 one such vessel, filled mostly with Iraqis and headed for Australia's Christmas Island, sank in the waters off Indonesia, killing more than 350 people. Other illegal migrants head for China, Ukraine or Dubai.

The ongoing war has raised prices as well as demand. A trip to London, the destination of choice, used to cost nearly $18,000; to the United States, $21,000; to Germany or Australia, $13,000, and so on. Now the travel agents are wary of moving their clients for fear of getting caught. They're charging more than $24,000 for an illegal trip to America, and there's a long wait to get anywhere. According to one smuggler, last week as many as 1,000 would-be illegal migrants were anxiously waiting for the green light to begin underground journeys to the West.

The one group of people who can afford to leave is bin Laden's foreign legions, thought to number as many as 5,000 fighters before Sept. 11; many are Arabs bankrolled by donations from Persian Gulf patrons. Most of these devoted cadres would no doubt rather stay and fight the Americans than run. But Al Qaeda has used the region's well-oiled smuggling syndicates for years to insert operatives into Western countries. (Favorite destinations have included Britain and Germany, where it's relatively easy for Afghans to gain asylum, claiming persecution at the hands of the Taliban regime.) The terrorist network has good reason to want many of its loyalists safe in countries where they can cause havoc rather than in ...