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A boat carrying 230 migrants, the highest number ever recorded, reached the UK after crossing the English Channel. UK authorities condemned smuggling gangs for risking lives by overloading unseaworthy vessels, while noting a 43% drop in crossings this year.
Spanish authorities, with Europol and European partners, dismantled a major trafficking network in the Western Mediterranean, arresting 78 suspects. The group smuggled over 2,000 migrants and earned €24 million before being stopped.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) warns that human trafficking through online scam centers has become one of the fastest-growing forms of trafficking worldwide, with victims from over 80 countries lured into criminal operations. IOM Director General Amy Pope said these centers employ up to 300,000 workers across Southeast Asia and increasingly target educated people via fake job ads. Survivors often face abuse, debt and re-victimization, while global scam losses reached up to $114 billion last year.
A human rights group says more than 5,300 people remain held in online scam centers in Myanmar near the Thai border, despite a multinational crackdown last year. Many victims are foreign nationals, including about 1,600 Chinese citizens, in areas controlled by a local militia. The group warns that criminal operations continue to run scams and trafficking, harming victims globally.
Pope Leo warned human traffickers they will face "God's judgment" for organizing deadly migrant routes to Europe. The pope made the remarks during a visit to Spain's Canary Islands, which have seen a record surge in migrant arrivals.
Brazilian federal police rescued 108 Cuban nationals smuggled into the country in a single day in Roraima state, the largest humanitarian rescue of its kind there. Most Cubans entered via Guyana, and the number of Cuban asylum applications in Brazil has now surpassed Venezuelan claims for the first time in a decade.
Families of victims are pleading with Zimbabwe and Russian authorities to repatriate their loved ones from the Ukraine front line, as human trafficking and casualty figures rise. At least four men have appeared in court on human trafficking charges, accused of luring Zimbabweans to Russia under false promises of jobs and then forcing them into fighting. Journalist Ezra Sibanda has uncovered a decentralised, cross-border network that exploits economic desperation with bonuses up to $37,000.
Three Australian women repatriated from Syria were denied bail in court on Friday, facing terrorism and human trafficking charges over alleged links to the Islamic State (IS). They are among 13 returnees being prosecuted amid increased scrutiny of citizens from conflict zones; their lawyers say they deny all charges.
Peruvian prosecutors have launched an investigation into a human trafficking network accused of deceiving citizens with false job offers in Russia, only to send them to the front lines in Ukraine to fight for Russian forces. Lawyer Percy Salinas said 13 Peruvian citizens have died and around 600 have been lured since October last year. Families protested outside the Foreign Ministry in Lima, demanding repatriation.
