Portugal arrests three in global human trafficking crackdown

Portuguese authorities have arrested three suspected human traffickers and identified eight victims during a major international operation that dismantled trafficking networks across 59 countries and led to more than 1,000 arrests worldwide.

The operation, codenamed Global Chain, was coordinated by Europol, Frontex and Interpol between June 8 and 12 .

According to Portugal’s Polícia Judiciária (PJ), the coordinated action identified 2,070 victims and potential victims and resulted in the arrest of 1,024 suspects globally.

Of those detained, 334 were arrested on human trafficking charges, while a further 690 were held for related offences.

Investigators found that the overwhelming majority of victims were adult women exploited for sexual purposes, which accounted for 88% of all identified cases.

Forced labour represented 9% of cases, while forced begging accounted for 2% and forced criminal activity for the remaining 1%.

Worldwide, authorities identified 1,908 adult victims and 162 minors, opened 465 new criminal investigations, uncovered 201 additional suspects and detected 80 cases involving fraudulent identity and/ or travel documents.

The PJ said child victims were most commonly exploited for forced begging and criminal activities such as pickpocketing. In many cases, the exploitation was carried out by members of the victims’ own families, making protection efforts particularly challenging.

The operation mobilised more than 40,000 officers and officials worldwide, including 718 personnel in Portugal drawn from police forces, labour inspectorates, tax authorities and customs services.

Authorities identified potential victims originating from 45 countries, with the largest numbers coming from Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, Nepal and Moldova. Many had been trafficked across national borders and, in some cases, between continents, highlighting the global reach of organised trafficking networks.

During the operation, authorities carried out checks on more than 565,000 people, inspected over 360,000 identity documents, searched nearly 141,000 vehicles, inspected more than 20,000 locations and monitored 6,133 flights and vessels.

The operation was coordinated through two international command centres—one in Skopje overseeing Europe, Asia and Africa, and another in Rio de Janeiro responsible for the Americas. Europol deployed specialist human trafficking investigators to both centres to coordinate intelligence-sharing and simultaneous enforcement actions against organised criminal groups.

The PJ said the rapid exchange of intelligence between participating countries proved crucial to dismantling trafficking networks and identifying and protecting victims across multiple jurisdictions.

Source: LUSA