2,500 traffickers held in Interpol drive

Interpol said on Wednesday that a six-day international police operation against human trafficking had led to more than 2,500 arrests and the rescue of over 3,000 potential victims. The operation, called ‘Liberterra II’, took place between Sept 29 and Oct 4 and was the largest-ever operation against human trafficking and people smuggling by the global law enforcement organization. People rescued included minors forced to work on farms in Argentina, migrants in nightclubs in North Macedonia, people forced into begging in Iraq or to serve in private households across the Middle East, Interpol said.

Raids led to the rescue of “3,222 potential victims of human trafficking and identified 17,793 irregular migrants,” it said. In addition to police raids, authorities also reinforced strategic border points, monitored nearly 24,000 flights and deployed officers to known trafficking and smuggling hotspots, said the organization based in Lyon, France.