Overview
- The multinational campaign, which ran from June 8 to June 12, resulted in 1,024 suspects arrested and roughly 2,070 victims identified according to Europol and was publicly reported by Interpol and partners on July 6.
- The operation was led by authorities in Romania and Austria and coordinated by Interpol, Europol and the EU border agency Frontex with police teams operating in 59 countries on four continents.
- Investigators found trafficking across multiple forms of exploitation, with sexual exploitation especially high among female and minor victims, forced begging and networks that sent people to scam centres for online fraud.
- Country-level successes included the seizure of more than €840,000 in Ireland, the arrest of 17 suspects in Belgium who recruited minors via social media, and the dismantling of a Brazil‑to‑Cambodia network forcing people into online‑fraud centres.
- Authorities warn that follow-up prosecutions, cross‑border asset tracing and long‑term victim protection remain difficult and that the operation underscores the global, profit‑driven nature of organised human trafficking.