European
police have raided brothels and sex shops across the continent in a bid
to identify Nigerian people-trafficking networks luring and trapping
women into prostitution, Europol said on Friday.
The operation was led by German police but also saw brothels raided
in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Sweden and Switzerland, said a statement from Europol, which is based in
the Hague.
Europol said the aim was to identify people trafficked from West Africa and obtain information on human traffickers.
“More than 468 West Africans, mainly women, were controlled and identified in the countries involved,” the statement said, adding that Police in 12 German states “carried out checks on brothels and similar properties,” the statement said.
“More than 468 West Africans, mainly women, were controlled and identified in the countries involved,” the statement said, adding that Police in 12 German states “carried out checks on brothels and similar properties,” the statement said.
“These first European control measures are another important step
towards establishing the complex crime structures that are difficult to
unravel in the field of trafficking human beings from West Africa,”
German federal police commissioner Joerg Ziercke was quoted as saying.
Europol said it was analysing the operation’s results “to help
identify key figures in human trafficking in Europe and establish
possible criminal organisational structures.”
Europol (short for European Police Office) is the European Union’s criminal intelligence agency since 1999.
Source: Vanguard
No comments:
Post a Comment