INTERPOL operation nets 262 arrests in migrant smuggling crackdown

An international law enforcement operation targeting criminal networks involved in migrant smuggling across the Mediterranean Sea and along the West African Atlantic route has resulted in 262 arrests, the opening of 434 investigations and the identification of 109 potential victims of human trafficking.

The four-day operation, dubbed Operation Communis Maris, brought together law enforcement and border management agencies from 16 countries across North and West Africa, southern Europe and the Middle East.

The operation also identified 1,715 irregular migrants. Of those arrested, 221 are suspected of migrant smuggling, 16 of human trafficking, and 25 of other offences, including the production and use of fraudulent documents.

Led by INTERPOL, with operational support from Europol, Frontex, AFRIPOL, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the operation aimed to dismantle organised criminal networks, rescue vulnerable migrants and bring suspected perpetrators to justice.

More than 7,660 officers took part in the operation, screening over 378,000 people, monitoring migration hotspots and strengthening border controls at strategic locations.

Authorities intercepted several vessels during the operation, including a boat carrying 70 migrants, 30 of them minors, off southern Morocco. In a separate incident, Mauritanian authorities rescued 80 passengers, including two children, after receiving an alert from Senegal.

In Tunisia, authorities thwarted an attempted sea crossing and arrested three suspected smugglers. Libyan authorities rescued 34 potential victims of human trafficking and arrested three suspects linked to a criminal network involved in trafficking, smuggling and extortion.

The operation also identified 41 organised criminal groups involved in migrant smuggling. Further arrests were made in Algeria and Syria, where authorities targeted suspected smuggling and trafficking networks.

The operation also targeted criminal networks operating beyond maritime routes, with authorities investigating fraudulent documents, illicit financial transactions and online smuggling activities.

In Morocco, police arrested a suspect accused of supplying forged passports and recruiting people for irregular migration. Authorities in Cyprus, Greece and France also made arrests linked to document fraud, money laundering and the facilitation of irregular migration.

Investigators uncovered dozens of social media posts and accounts advertising smuggling services. INTERPOL said intelligence gathered during the operation, along with 434 newly opened investigations, could lead to further arrests in the coming months.