Trafficking in Human Beings: A Europol Perspective Presentation to 12 th International Forum for Public Prosecutors on the Fight Against Organised Cross Border Crime Salzburg 1 September2009

Trafficking in the European Union It is unlikely that there is one Member State of the European Union that is not affected by the activities of criminals and criminal networks involved in the Traffic of Human Beings in, into and from the EU THB is driven by organised crime and professional criminals Lucrative markets in respect of sexual and labour exploitation exist throughout the EU

27 Member States of the European Union Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom

23 official languages of the European Union Bulgarian Czech Danish German Estonian Greek English Spanish French Italian Latvian Lithuanian Hungarian Irish Maltese Dutch Polish Portuguese Romanian Slovak Slovene Finnish Swedish

Some EU statistics 27 countries Internal land border 13,000km External land border 11,000km Sea border 74,000km Diverse judicial systems and working practices 23 different languages 16 different currencies Population in 2007 in excess of 500,000,000 Schengen Travel Area

Why Organised Crime is involved in Human Trafficking–The Profits US$27.8 billion –annual profits from forced commercial sexual exploitation with trafficked victims US$3.8 billion – annual profits from trafficked people in forced economic exploitation The traffic in human beings is considered to be the fastest growing criminal business in the world generating massive profits for international criminal organisations

THB and the involvement of Organised Crime “The main motive for cross-border organised crime is financial gain. This financial gain is a stimulus for committing further crime to achieve even more profit. Accordingly, law enforcement services should have the necessary skills to investigate and analyse financial trails of criminal activity. To combat organised crime effectively, information that can lead to the tracing and seizure of proceeds from crime and other property belonging to criminals has to be exchanged rapidly between the Member States of the European Union” COUNCIL DECISION 2007/845/JHA of 6 December 2007 concerning cooperation between Asset Recovery Offices of the Member States in the field of tracing and identification of proceeds from, or other property related to, crime

Nationalities of most active trafficking networks operating in the EU Nigerian Romanian Bulgarian Chinese

Structure and modus operandi of Trafficking Groups involved with sexual exploitation The most frequently reported trafficking group structure reported is the small group with 5 or 6 members linked through either family or clan ties and those that are formed by criminals with a previous association. Sophisticated trafficking networks do exist e.g. Nigerian and Chinese operating at trans-national level controlling all aspects of the trafficking process

Some examples of the profits from trafficking that have come to notice Intelligence from a intercepted telephone conversation between two Romanian traffickers discussing the earning potential for children in the UK reveals that they expect to make “between €30,000 and €40,000 every two to three months” If true, an exploited child in the UK has the ‘earning’ potential of between €120k and €240k per year

Case study: Investigation referred to Europol for support Bulgarian organised crime group trafficking Bulgarian girls and women in the European Union for the purpose of sexual exploitation

Links to other involved countries may not be evident Brussels prosecutor sees one pimp and one victim Amsterdam prosecutor sees one pimp and one victim Hannover prosecutor sees one pimp and one victim Multiple victims trafficked by Bulgarian OCG to western EU states

Added value of exchanging intelligence via Europol channels Information and intelligence gathered from across the European Union results in identified links and ‘cross matches’ Operational meeting held at Europol with investigators and liaison officers from those countries that have been identified as being relevant to the case Objectives identified – Identify and rescue victims where possible Identify the members of the trafficking network Gather evidence, arrest, prosecute and convict Dissemination of intelligence collection plan and tasking for specific countries and agencies

Identifying the structure of the trafficking network Surveillance Communications intercepts Physical ‘routine’ checks on vehicles and individuals Tracking the money flow Victim testimony Interviews of arrested persons Development of gathered intelligence

The role of the drivers: An opportunity for intervention The drivers also have a trusted role within the group, ensuring that the ‘commodity’ arrives in the place of exploitation. It is likely that they will know other members of the trafficking network The victims are under the control of the drivers during every stage of the transportation phase Drivers will have established contacts in transit countries and at border crossings The drivers will also know the contacts at the destination

The drivers as money couriers ‘Trusted’ victims are used to collect money from other victims and prostitutes which is passed on to madams or pimps. They are also used to take substantial sums of hard cash back to Bulgaria The drivers have a key role in transporting these money couriers

Intelligence package provided to investigators Identity of the drivers involved in transporting the commodity Description of the vehicles involved in transporting the victims The routes taken by the vehicles The probable date and location of the next ‘border crossing’

Romanian trafficking network operating across Europe Operation EUROPA – 1107 children trafficked from Romanian to western EU member States 200 ‘Europa’ children identified in the UK through criminal records Each child has an earning potential of €120,000 pa (previous slide) Each child has a potential ‘sale’ price of €20, hundred children exploited to their ‘full potential’ in the UK = €24 million 1107 children exploited to their full potential in the EU = ??

What are they involved in ?

Trafficking from the UK to Sweden for labour exploitation Investigation began 2007 UK and Irish nationals, young men in their early twenties, ‘recruited’ in UK and taken to Sweden and Norway as part of road construction gangs False passports were provided for those individuals without travel documents All passports, genuine and false were seized by the traffickers The trafficked men worked between hours a day and received €10 after deduction of ‘travel, food and accommodation expenses’ Victims subjected to regular physical abuse.

Trafficking from Romania and Kosovo to Finland for labour exploitation Trafficking for labour exploitation from the South East Europe and the Balkans to Finland Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Finland and Kosovo Trafficked by owner of employment agency that specialises in supplying foreign labour for construction and cleaning industry in Finland Individuals pay €4-6,000 to obtain job in Finland Workers subjected to poor conditions of employment The total amount of the money transfers identified is around €190,000. Includes money sent from Germany, Switzerland and United Kingdom to Finland Most of the money transfers have been sent to Romania

Current challenge faced by law enforcement To develop local, regional and national investigations into the trafficking of human beings beyond national boundaries and borders

Consequences of a limited law enforcement response Regional or national investigations into the trafficking of human beings which are not developed beyond the borders of the prosecuting state are unlikely to have any impact upon the liberty, lifestyle and other activities enjoyed by traffickers based in another country. It is therefore equally likely that unless this state of affairs changes, there will be no reduction in the level of trafficking in the EU

Potential obstacles to successful international investigation Dissemination and exchange of information Data protection Handling codes & tables of equivalence Knowledge and awareness Legislation Language barriers Jurisdiction Identifying responsible authority / agency Lack of network or point of contact Cultural barriers Capacity and resources Confidence Prosecutors Investigators Criminal procedure and working practices Corruption

Solutions to improving international co-operation and the effectiveness of cross border investigations Early contact and liaison with the international law enforcement agencies that have a specific role to coordinate, support and facilitate cross border investigations into serious and organised crime e.g. Eurojust, Europol, Interpol, SECI, Frontex and any other law enforcement agency or organisation that has a specific co-ordination and support role

AWF PHOENIX Open since June EU MS and 2 Third States Supporting live investigations into THB Priority areas: - Romanian traffickers, Nigerian traffickers, Child trafficking and Labour exploitation Also supporting multi state initiatives

Joint Investigation Team as an example of effective trans-national cooperation Romania and the United Kingdom* Europol and Eurojust Specific operational focus on two investigations linked to the trafficking of 1107 Romanian Roma children from Romania to other EU MS Funded by the European Commission Effective 1 September 2008** Potential for expansion

Multi state initiatives in 2009 North West Hub initiative: Focus on the trafficking of Chinese nationals by Chinese traffickers for sexual exploitation Joint Investigation Team: Trafficking of over one thousand Romanian Roma children across Europe involving Romania, Spain and the UK

Current trends across the EU The reported instances of child trafficking have increased with Roma trafficking groups specialising in the trafficking of children for street crime and benefit fraud Increasing number of females with key roles being identified mainly in relation to recruitment and money couriers. In the case of Nigerian trafficking groups, working as Madams or “mamans” and controlling the victims in respect of all aspects of their ‘work’. Internal trafficking has increased with many cases linked to the exploitation of victims from migrant communities by their own nationals

continued The reported instances of labour exploitation have increased – possibly due to raised awareness More and more heterogeneous groups being identified which tend to reflect the origin of VOTs and the country of exploitation. eg. Romanian and Spanish, Ukrainian and Portuguese, Lithuanian and Albanian More ad hoc or opportunistic trafficking possibly driven by an increased awareness of basic methodology and the profits involved

Conclusion In order to respond effectively to emerging and identified patterns, trends and the growth of the crime of human trafficking, coordinated action is fundamental Making effective use of the mechanisms in place to exchange information, intelligence and evidence should be seen and recognised as good practice Coordinated multi national investigations have a significant impact upon the activities of traffickers across the world and help to create a hostile environment for those involved in trafficking human beings

EUROPOL: The European Police Organisation Steve Harvey Trafficking Human Beings Group Leader +31 (0) (0)