more than 2,500 arrests in global operation led by Interpol

Interpol announced on Wednesday November 6 that it had carried out its “largest operation against human trafficking” to this day. More than 2,500 people were arrested and more than 3,000 potential victims were rescued across the world between September 29 and October 4, the international criminal police organization said in a statement.

The operation “Liberterra II” to permission “to rescue 3,222 potential victims”including minors forced to work on farms in Argentina, migrants in nightclubs in Macedonia, beggars in Iraq, domestic workers in the Middle East. Moreover, “17,793 irregular migrants” were identified.

A total of 2,517 arrests were made during the week, of which 850 specifically concerned human or migrant smuggling, Interpol added, specifying that these are preliminary results.

Online scam

“Human trafficking and migrant smuggling are increasingly linked to other forms of crime, often using the same criminal networks and routes”underlined the organization, an overlap which “amplifies the profits and power of organized criminal groups”.

The operation thus made it possible to discover online scam centers exploiting trafficking victims. In the Philippines, police raided a warehouse where more than 250 people, most of them Chinese, were engaged in emotional scams on an industrial scale.

“In many cases, victims are lured by false promises of employment and kept there through intimidation and abuse”announces the press release. In Mali, the operation made it possible to identify 24 Togolese women held against their will and forced to participate in a commercial scheme, after having been lured by the promise of employment abroad.

In Costa Rica, a woman at the head of a sect was arrested for child exploitation, forced labor and physical and psychological violence. In Brazil, an investigation into a drug trafficking network established that its members also worked as smugglers to the United States.

“In their relentless quest for profit, organized crime groups continue to exploit men, women and children, often repeatedly”lamented Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock, for whom “only coordinated action can counter these threats”.

Mr. Stock, who is completing his second and final term at the head of Interpol, must give way to the Brazilian, Valdecy Urquizava, at the organization's annual general meeting, which is currently being held in Glasgow.