By: Nana Karikari, Senior Global Affairs Correspondent
A massive Interpol-led crackdown has dismantled human trafficking and migrant smuggling networks across 119 countries. Operation Liberterra III (November 10–21, 2025) resulted in 3,744 arrests and the safeguarding of 4,414 potential victims, the organisation announced on Monday, January 26, 2026.
The operation mobilised 14,000 officers worldwide to conduct hotspot surveillance, targeted raids, and reinforced border controls. To manage real-time intelligence and database checks, four operational coordination units were established in Algeria, El Salvador, Lao PDR, and the United Kingdom.
Shifting Trafficking Dynamics
Authorities uncovered a significant shift in global crime patterns. Interpol reports an emerging trend of South American and Asian victims being trafficked into Africa, a sharp reversal of historical routes where African victims were primarily sent abroad. Migration patterns in the Americas have also largely reversed, with South American nationals now travelling southward through Central America.
“Criminal networks are evolving, exploiting new routes, digital platforms, and vulnerable populations,” Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said. “Identifying these patterns allows law enforcement to anticipate threats, disrupt networks earlier, and better protect victims.”
African “Pyramid” Schemes and Digital Scams
In West and Central Africa, police in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, and Sierra Leone disrupted “recruitment hubs” and rescued more than 200 victims. These networks often utilise a predatory pyramid scheme model, charging high fees and forcing victims to recruit their own family members.
The digital frontier remains a primary battleground. In Asia, a single raid on a compound in Myanmar uncovered 450 workers and seized 18,800 mobile phones used for trafficking-fuelled scams. Additionally, 125 Indian nationals were repatriated following similar screening and detection efforts.
Tragic Realities
The operation revealed the harrowing physical toll of these crimes. In Mozambique, an eight-year-old boy was kidnapped for organ removal. In El Salvador, a young girl was sold to a 73-year-old man, while children in Belize were found working in a glass factory.
In Spain, authorities dismantled a network trafficking Colombian women for sexual exploitation through beauty salons, where victims were forced to repay debts of EUR 6,000. In Kazakhstan, groups disguised trafficking as a taxi service, using violence to force victims into prostitution in saunas.
Polycriminality and High-Risk Routes
The crackdown exposed the dangerous “polycriminal” nature of modern smuggling, where networks share routes for drugs, fraud, and weapons. At the Romanian border, a truck scan intended to find migrants instead uncovered military weapons, including rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and drone components.
In Brazil, police froze BRL 5.94 million (approximately GH₵12.28 million) in assets, including real estate and cryptocurrencies, linked to a smuggling ring. In Peru, authorities dismantled Los Zorritos del Norte, a group suspected of smuggling Venezuelan migrants to Chile. On the Atlantic coast, 245 migrants were rescued from a single overcrowded vessel departing Senegal, while Mali identified 47 Nigerian women trafficked for exploitation.
Global Cooperation and Future Actions
The operation sparked at least 720 new investigations. Interpol highlighted the importance of private-sector collaboration, such as the logistics programme in the United Kingdom that engages lorry drivers to identify risks.
This success was supported by numerous partners, including UNODC, Europol, and IOM. Interpol officials emphasised that “document fraud, money laundering, and drug trafficking” are now inextricably linked to human smuggling, requiring a unified, cross-border response.
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Source:
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