Objectives: This study examines the convergence of smuggling and trafficking in persons along the Central Mediterranean Route (CMR) to Europe. We explore where and how these phenomena blur, impacting states’ obligations and policy decisions. Methods: We analyse 71 interviews with migrants who travelled on the CMR in 2018 and 2019, with a focus on 17 participants who experienced forced labour. Results: We find clear overlaps and crossovers between smuggling of migrants, forced labour, debt bondage, extortion, kidnapping and human trafficking. Notably, we observed transitions from trafficking to smuggling – a phenomenon rarely reported. This includes cases where people negotiated boat crossings with their traffickers as a means of escaping detention. The concept of exploitation as a ‘purpose’ of trafficking, not clearly defined in international law, complicates the distinction between smuggling and trafficking. For example, instances where individuals were coerced onto boats by armed men could be considered trafficking, should extortion through the extraction of significant sums of money for dangerous sea crossings be recognised as a ‘purpose of exploitation’. In our investigation into conditions of detention during these journeys, we argue that the deliberate use of torture for ransom, forced labour and extortion in certain facilities meets the ‘purpose’ criteria for exploitation, meaning migrants subjected to these conditions could reasonably be considered to have been trafficked. Conclusion: Given the challenges in neatly categorising some experiences as either smuggling or trafficking under international law, we call for humanitarian protection based on the hardships that people experienced en route, rather than on dichotomous legal categorisations or on their initial motivations for leaving.