219 criminals arrested by EUROPOL and 1,374 victims identified

From June 3 to 9, 39 countries around the world participated in the EMPACT joint days of action against human trafficking. Led by Austria and co-led by Romania, Europol, Frontex and INTERPOL, the large-scale operation dubbed “GLOBAL CHAIN” resulted in the arrest of 219 people and the identification of more than 1,374 victims, including 153 children. Aimed at dismantling high-risk criminal networks, the week of action focused on cases of sexual exploitation, forced crime and forced begging.

Building on the previous successful iterations of the operation, the proven multidisciplinary approach involved Europol, Frontex and INTERPOL as well as police forces and border guards from several continents. This year, one of the objectives was to identify and dismantle the most threatening criminal networks operating in the EU, such as mafia, ethnic and family organisations and other structured networks involved in human trafficking. Within the criminal phenomena of sexual exploitation, forced begging and coerced criminality, law enforcement placed a particular emphasis on targeting cases involving children as victims.

Similar to actions carried out in previous years, this large-scale, joint action aimed to encourage authorities to carry out targeted activities in their respective countries and collectively among themselves for a week, but also to draw attention to this despicable crime. The results of these days of joint action reached not only the authorities, but also many other external actors who may have a role to play in reducing the number of victims of human trafficking.

Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, Europol Deputy Executive Director, Operations Directorate, said:

Close and effective cooperation between law enforcement and border protection authorities at international level is essential to target those who exploit the most vulnerable among us. The impressive results of this year’s EMPACT Joint Action Days show that the heinous crime of human trafficking is best fought together. For this, I would like to express my gratitude to all countries and partners who have once again joined forces with Europol in this global effort to dismantle these criminal networks.

Lars Gerdes, Deputy Executive Director for Operations at Frontex, said:

Human trafficking is a heinous crime that preys on vulnerable people and undermines our shared values ​​of human dignity and freedom. Detecting these crimes is extremely difficult due to the frequent lack of victim testimonies, leading to a significant number of unreported cases. This is why our international cooperation with Europol, Interpol, Austria and more than 39 countries worldwide is so crucial.

The following examples provide an overview of the diverse nature of national anti-trafficking operations that have been successfully conducted in the context of the EMPACT Week of Action.

In a particularly gruesome case, officers from the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg Police Department (Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg Vármegyei Rendőr-főkapitányság) arrested a Hungarian couple for forcing six of their own children to have sex and beg in the streets of their village. . The minor children were physically, mentally and sexually abused by their own parents, with their own father attacking them with sticks, belts and his bare hands. The police found that the children were neglected, malnourished and in poor health. The parents would tie them up in a room of the house and offer their children to other people in the neighborhood for sex in exchange for payment. Forensic, medical and psychological experts were involved to confirm the sexual abuse and collect testimonies from the traumatized children, who have since been rescued and placed in foster care.

Officers from the Human Trafficking Unit of the Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation (Nemzeti Nyomozó Iroda Emberkereskedelem Elleni Osztály) were deployed to Austria to conduct joint police checks with members of the Austrian Criminal Intelligence Service and the provincial criminal police services (Bundeskriminalamt; Landeskriminalämter Wien und Niederösterreich). The teams conducted targeted checks in hot establishments, focusing on Hungarian sex workers. Europol facilitated and financially supported this exchange of staff.

Officers from the Galati Brigade for Combating Organized Crime (Poliţiei Române – Brigada de Combatere a Criminalitatii Organizate Galati) arrested a suspect who recruited underage victims from disadvantaged backgrounds, forcing them to beg and engage in sexual exploitation. The trafficker withheld the money collected, who used physical violence to control his victims. During a raid conducted during the week of action, officers collected additional evidence and questioned suspects and victims. In one of the locations raided, law enforcement also found and seized various narcotics.

In an effort to raise awareness of this area of ​​crime, the Irish National Police (An Garda Síochána) spoke to thousands of passengers as they disembarked from their trains in Dublin. Garda officers actively looked for indicators of human trafficking and informed the public about the area of ​​crime. Although no victims were identified, the initiative generated significant public engagement.

The National Police of Ukraine (Національна поліція України) has dismantled an organized criminal group targeting vulnerable people. Three suspects were identified for controlling and coercing twelve victims and forcing them to beg. In another case, police officers arrested a person who forced a disabled person to marry a man in order to get her mobilization postponed. The victim was protected by Ukrainian authorities.

Vietnamese authorities have uncovered a human trafficking scheme involving a Chinese interpreter working for a company in Laos. The suspect lured 14 Vietnamese people with promises of well-paid overseas jobs, then forced them to create fraudulent online accounts for financial fraud. Victims worked 12-hour days, extended to 14 hours if they failed to recruit others, and their documents were confiscated. Families were extorted for up to USD 10,000 to secure their return to Vietnam. The case further highlights the trend of human trafficking for the purpose of forced online fraud, first detected by INTERPOL in Southeast Asia during Operation Storm Makers in March 2022, and subsequently in other regions, leading to the issuance of an INTERPOL Orange Notice, EUROPOL writes.