Interpol mega-operation in 116 countries, 2500 people are arrested, among them Albanians

Interpol has finalized a mega operation on November 5, where 2,500 people linked to the mafia and organized crime were put in handcuffs.

Operation "Liberterra II" took place in 116 countries and territories between September 29 and October 4, including North Macedonia.

It is learned that this Interpol operation was undertaken within the action of the fight against human trafficking.

Interpol made it possible 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... "and "the identification of 17,793 irregular migrants".

In total, 2,517 arrests were made during the week, of which 850 are specifically related to the smuggling of people or immigrants, Interpol added, specifying that these are preliminary results.

The Swiss Albanian newspaper Le Canton27.ch has learned that dozens of Macedonians, Serbs and Albanians are among those arrested.

"Human trafficking and migrant smuggling are increasingly linked to other forms of crime, often using the same criminal networks and routes," the organization stressed, an overlap that "reinforces the profits and power of organized criminal groups."

Thus, the operation made it possible to detect online fraud centers that exploited trafficking victims.

In the Philippines, police raided a warehouse where more than 250 people, mostly Chinese, were involved in industrial-scale sentiment scams.

"In many cases, victims are lured by false promises of employment and kept there through intimidation and abuse," the statement said.

 

In Mali, the operation made it possible to identify 24 Togolese women held against their will and forced to participate in a trafficking scheme after being 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 ring revealed that its members also worked as smugglers in the United States.

In their relentless quest for profit, organized crime groups continue to exploit men, women and children, often repeatedly, complained Interpol Secretary-General Jurgen Stock, which only coordinated action can counter. these threats.