AFRICAN law enforcement agencies played a crucial role in a global crackdown on human trafficking and migrant smuggling that safeguarded more than 200 victims across the continent and led to multiple arrests.
Authorities in Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone dismantled pyramid-style trafficking networks during Operation Liberterra III, conducted between 10 and 21 November 2025. The operations disrupted recruitment and exploitation hubs specific to Central and West Africa, where criminals recruit victims under false promises of work abroad, charge exorbitant “recruitment fees”, then force them into recruiting friends or family members in exchange for improved conditions.
In Mali, police identified 47 Nigerian women who had been trafficked into the country for sexual exploitation.
Algerian authorities intercepted a large inflatable boat carrying 71 people of various nationalities, including seven minors, acting on intelligence about the dangerous crossing. Three suspected facilitators were arrested, and authorities seized communications equipment, cash and mobile phones. Investigations are ongoing to dismantle the wider network.
One of the operation’s largest maritime interceptions involved 245 migrants departing from Senegal, with further high-risk sea departures recorded off the coasts of Guinea-Bissau, Morocco and Algeria. Migrants were travelling in overcrowded vessels with minimal safety equipment.
The operation also revealed shifting trafficking patterns affecting Africa. Cases involving victims from the Americas and Asia being trafficked to Africa point to changing dynamics, contrasting with historically observed patterns of African victims being trafficked abroad.
Global Scope
The INTERPOL-coordinated operation spanned 119 countries and resulted in 3,744 arrests, including more than 1,800 for human trafficking and migrant smuggling offences. Law enforcement agencies mobilised more than 14,000 officers, safeguarding 4,414 potential victims of human trafficking and detecting 12,992 irregular migrants.
“The level of enforcement action highlights strong cooperation, but the wider trends which have been revealed are just as important,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza. “Criminal networks are evolving, exploiting new routes, digital platforms and vulnerable populations.”
Four operational coordination units were established in Algeria, El Salvador, Lao PDR and the United Kingdom to support real-time checks against INTERPOL databases.
Trafficking-fueled scam schemes remained a serious concern in Asia and Africa. In Myanmar, a single raid uncovered some 450 workers in a suspected scam compound, with authorities seizing 18,800 mobile phones and more than 300 computers linked to scam activity.
The operation found that while sexual exploitation remains highly reported, forced labour and forced criminality are increasing, with domestic servitude and organ removal also detected. Human trafficking and migrant smuggling continue to be closely linked to crimes such as document fraud, money laundering and drug trafficking.
Authorities opened more than 720 new investigations, many of which are ongoing.
