Greater mobility both within and outside national borders has historically become the norm rather than the exception, so the development of people-smuggling networks in places such as Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka is hardly a new phenomenon (Hugo & Dissanayake 2014; Triandafyllidou & Maroukis 2012; UNODC 2015). News articles have covered Indian migrants entering the US through Mexico, Bangladeshi migrants roaming in Turkey, and Sri Lankan migrants stranded in Malaysia and Indonesia, waiting to make their journey to Australia (ABC 2015; Demir et al. 2016; Icduygu & Yukseker 2012; Irfan 2012). People smugglers also facilitate the movement of migrants between these countries; for example, the movement of Sri Lankan migrants, mostly Tamils, and Bangladeshi migrants to India. Studies revealing Bangladeshi smugglers operating in Turkey and Indian smugglers working in Belgium (Demir et al. 2016; Derluyn & Broekaert 2005) indicate that they’re active not only within the South Asian region, but also in transit and destination countries. High poverty, rising inequality, violent political and religious conflicts and the changing aspirations of people in the region have created opportunities for people smugglers to generate income. In many cases, people smugglers are involved in exploiting, torturing and abusing smuggled migrants. Many migrants, including children and women, have lost their lives during harsh maritime and land journeys, generating a critical public debate in recent years (Carling et al. 2015). Drawing on the literature on people smuggling in South Asia, this chapter analyses the profiles of people smugglers, their networks and the nexus between migrant smuggling and human trafficking to inform the public debate within the region and beyond.