Global police op uncovers 13,000 illegal migrants | UK | News

More than 4,000 trafficking victims and 13,000 illegal immigrants have been identified in one of the largest global human trafficking operations to date. Shocking discoveries include primary school children being forced to work in a glass factory in Belize, a young girl being sold to a 73-year-old man in El Salvador, and an eight-year-old boy being kidnapped for organ harvesting in Mozambique. Operation Liberterra III was led by Interpol and involved the arrest of 3,744 suspects in 119 countries; Among them, more than 1,800 were for alleged human trafficking and immigrant smuggling.

During the operation, law enforcement, including the UK’s National Crime Agency, mobilized more than 14,000 officers, carrying out hotspot surveillance and targeted raids, as well as strengthened border controls. Meanwhile, 720 new investigations are ongoing.

Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said: “The level of enforcement action highlights strong cooperation, but the broader trends that are emerging are equally important. Criminal networks are evolving, exploiting new routes, digital platforms and the vulnerable.”

populations. “Identifying these patterns allows law enforcement to anticipate threats, disrupt networks sooner, and better protect victims.”

* Trafficking-related fraud schemes remain a serious concern in Asia and Africa, but improved intelligence, detection and screening mechanisms are leading to more arrests and the repatriation of hundreds of victims.

*Sexual exploitation continues to be highly reported, while rates of forced labor and forced crime are also increasing; Domestic slavery and organ harvesting are also detected.

* Cases involving South American and Asian victims in Africa point to changing trafficking dynamics that contradict historically observed patterns of African victims being trafficked abroad.

* Migration patterns in the Americas have largely reversed; South American citizens now travel southward through Central America.

* Pressure continues on the Atlantic and Mediterranean sea routes, especially from West and North Africa to Europe.

* Authorities are increasingly using online surveillance to detect and track human trafficking and smuggling networks.

*Human trafficking and migrant smuggling remain closely linked to crimes such as document fraud, money laundering and drug trafficking.

Four operational coordination units were established in Algeria, El Salvador, Lao PDR and the United Kingdom to support real-time checks against Interpol databases, share intelligence and issue Interpol Notices.

Intelligence officials have responded to this situation in a coordinated manner, taking multiple actions against suspected fraud centers in Asia; Focusing specifically on Myanmar, a single raid uncovered 450 workers at a facility. Electronic devices linked to fraudulent activities were seized, including 18,800 mobile phones and more than 300 computers.

Police also focused their efforts on screening and repatriating hundreds of potential trafficking victims from previous actions, including a group of 125 Indian nationals.

In Africa, authorities in Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone have taken comprehensive action against pyramid-style human trafficking networks; this led to the rescue of over 200 victims and the disruption of numerous recruitment and exploitation centers.

These schemes, specific to Central and West Africa, involve recruiting victims under false pretenses of working abroad, charging exorbitant “recruitment fees,” and then forcing them to recruit friends or family members in exchange for improved conditions.

Behind the operational results are thousands of individual stories of suffering and resilience, including children working in a glass factory in Belize, a young girl sold to a 73-year-old man in El Salvador, and an eight-year-old boy kidnapped for organ harvesting in Mozambique.

Authorities in Spain have dismantled a criminal network that trafficked women for sexual exploitation through beauty salons and massage parlors in Barcelona and Marbella, identifying 21 victims.

The women, most of whom were of Colombian origin, were subjected to constant surveillance, harassment and were forced to repay a debt of 6,000 Euros through prostitution in accommodation facilities also used for drug sales.

In Costa Rica, authorities arrested a man named “El Gordo” accused of pressuring underage girls at a technical college to record sexually explicit videos. Authorities stated that the suspect’s partner, who was a teacher at the same institution, was also arrested, and that he was believed to have helped the suspect recruit other victims.

Kazakh authorities have identified a modus operandi in which human trafficking networks disguise their activities as taxi services. The groups used violence and intimidation to force victims into prostitution at multiple saunas. In a series of raids, police seized cash, weapons, bank cards and several vehicles and uncovered a money laundering scheme used to purchase real estate and assets.

Authorities in Mali have identified 47 Nigerian women who were trafficked into the country for sexual exploitation.

Police Scotland protected a Romanian national who was trafficked to the UK with false promises of employment and subjected to sexual exploitation. Transported across Europe and then ferried to Scotland, the woman’s identity documents were detained upon arrival in Dundee.

Authorities have halted several high-risk cruises involving large groups of migrants traveling on overcrowded ships with minimal safety equipment. Only one intervention involved 245 migrants leaving Senegal; Other cases were recorded off the coasts of Guinea-Bissau, Morocco and Algeria.

Acting on intelligence, Algerian authorities seized a large inflatable boat carrying 71 people of various nationalities, including seven children. Three people are suspected of being facilitators. Authorities have seized communications equipment, cash and mobile phones, and investigations are ongoing to dismantle the wider network and its finances.

Authorities in Brazil have busted a transnational migrant smuggling network with ties to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mexico and the United States, arresting the main suspect, imposing travel restrictions and freezing over $1.1 million in assets, including real estate, vehicles, ships, planes and cryptocurrencies.

Romanian authorities stopped vehicles at the Moldovan border and scanned a truck reportedly carrying metal parts. However, the scan uncovered secret military weapons, including rocket launchers, grenade launchers, ammunition and fighter jet components. While two people were detained in Moldova, the driver was detained in Romania. Although the case is not directly linked to immigration crimes, it highlights how the same routes are used for different types of smuggling.

In Peru, authorities disbanded “Los Zorritos del Norte,” a criminal group suspected of smuggling 30 Venezuelan immigrants, six of whom were minors, to Chile. The fact that the arrests occurred as a result of cooperation with a bus company emphasizes the importance of raising awareness in the private sector.

In the UK, authorities have maintained a successful program with the logistics industry by sending officers to rest areas to engage lorry drivers, identify risks, gather intelligence and encourage anonymous reporting.

Additional awareness campaigns were also conducted in Indonesia, Kuwait, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Africa, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates to prevent further exploitation.