More than 1,000 human traffickers and migrant smugglers have been arrested across 54 countries as a result of an unprecedented joint operation launched by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL).
The operation – codenamed FLASH-WEKA – resulted in a total of 1,062 arrests, 2,731 irregular migrants being detected, the identification of 823 human trafficking victims, the seizure of 801 criminal merchandise articles, such as weapons and vehicles, and 197 investigations being launched. The United States, Germany, Norway and the European Union, assisted in funding the operation, which took place between May and June this year.
Some of those arrested in FLASH-WEKA included two men who are suspected of trafficking and sexually abusing an underage girl in Syria, nine Iranians thought to be involved in organ trafficking, and eight Moroccan men preparing an illegal crossing over the Mediterranean to Spain, among hundreds of others.
“Human trafficking and migrant smuggling are often part of a wider and more complex criminal chain. This is why close cooperation between INTERPOL and AFRIPOL is so important in uniting our resources to dismantle these networks…” Argued the Secretary General of INTERPOL, Jürgen Stock, who added that the continued international efforts “will no doubt result in further arrests, bringing to justice those who traffic in human misery.”
Human trafficking is becoming an increasingly recognized topic across the United States and the rest of the world thanks to the combined efforts of INTERPOL and AFRIPOLS as well as Alejandro Monteverde, who directed the groundbreaking anti-child trafficking movie, ‘Sound of Freedom.’
