Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
More than 2000 victims and suspected victims were identified, with 162 of them being minors.
Modern borders are supposed to protect us.
Yet, behind closed doors, a dark trade continues to thrive in plain sight.
Law enforcement agencies worldwide are now pushing back harder than ever to break these hidden global chains.
A massive net
It started with a coordinated sweep across dozens of countries. The global effort, known as Operation GLOBAL CHAIN, took place in June 2026.
According to a Europol press release, the massive crackdown brought together more than 40,000 officers from 59 different nations.
The scale was enormous. Authorities checked over 560,000 people and thousands of vehicles. By the end of the week, investigators had rescued 2,070 potential victims and arrested 1,024 suspects.
Most rescued individuals were adult women. However, children faced the worst abuse, with Europol stating that over 86 percent of the 162 rescued minors were victims of exploitation.
Tragically, close family members often drove the abuse.
Managing this required intense global teamwork. Officials set up two command hubs, one in North Macedonia and another in Brazil. Europol experts quickly deployed to both locations to bridge the gap between continents and coordinate the simultaneous raids.
Raids and rescues
Local teams reported major breakthroughs.
In Belgium, police dismantled a dangerous gang that used popular social media platforms to lure young girls.
Twenty-two minors were reportedly held captive, with the suspects forcing them into prostitution across Belgium and France before investigators finally tracked them down.
Action intensified across the Atlantic as well. FBI and Homeland Security teams arrested 16 people on trafficking charges after launching multiple raids. They rescued 22 victims.
Meanwhile, Irish police targeted the financial side of the trade. Officers searched a home in Limerick and seized more than €840,000 in cash. They also arrested a key suspect.
Other operations targeted businesses used as fronts. French police raided three massage parlours, arresting two suspects. In Iceland, surveillance teams monitored suspected brothels, recording more than 50 clients on camera while identifying 16 victims of exploitation.
Catching digital predators
Online platforms are the new battleground. To fight back, agencies organized a large-scale online hackathon just weeks before the physical raids began. This effort identified 252 potential victims.
The battle relies on long-term teamwork. Groups like Interpol and Frontex shared data to make these raids possible. Armed with fresh evidence, international forces are already planning their next moves against these global crime syndicates.
