The “GLOBAL CHAIN” was carried out on five continents with the aim of combating human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced criminal activity, and begging.

Europol supported a global operation against human trafficking, in which the competent authorities of 59 countries participated. As part of the operation, 2,070 potential victims were identified and 1,024 suspects were arrested, 334 of whom are alleged to be involved in human trafficking cases. At the same time, as part of ongoing investigations, an additional 201 suspects were identified for offenses related to human trafficking.

The operation, codenamed “GLOBAL CHAIN,” focused on combating human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced criminal activity, and begging, with a particular emphasis on protecting minor victims.

The operation took place from June 8 to 12, 2026, under the coordination and with the support of EUROPOL, FRONTEX, and INTERPOL. The objective was to identify and disrupt the activities of criminal networks involved in human trafficking, to identify those involved, to launch new criminal investigations against organized criminal groups, and to protect potential victims. The operation was carried out within the framework of the European Multisectoral Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), with Austria coordinating the operation and Romania acting as co-lead.

Overall results of the operation

• 1,024 arrests, of which 334 were for human trafficking offenses and 690 for other criminal offenses.
• Identification of 2,070 victims and potential victims (1,908 adults and 162 minors).
• 201 additional suspects identified.
• Launch of 465 new criminal investigations.
• 80 cases of document forgery were identified.

According to the results of the investigations so far, the vast majority of victims are adult women. Specifically, 64.2% were trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation, 20.9% for forced criminal activity, 11.3% for forced labor, 1.5% for begging, and 2.1% for other forms of exploitation.

Particularly alarming is the fact that 86.4% of the minor victims were trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. In addition, 6.2% involved forced labor, 3% involved begging, approximately 0.6% involved forced criminal activity, and 3.8% involved other forms of exploitation. In many cases, protecting victims is particularly difficult, as their exploitation is carried out even by members of their own families.

Potential victims mainly from Latin American countries

More than 40,000 law enforcement officers from 59 countries participated in the operation, including police officers, border guards, labor inspectors, as well as representatives from tax and customs authorities.

Potential victims were identified from 45 different countries, with the majority coming from Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, Nepal, and Moldova. Many of the victims had been transported across borders, even between different continents, demonstrating the international nature of criminal human trafficking networks.

During the operation, checks were conducted on:

• 565,470 individuals,
• 360,317 travel and other identification documents,
• 140,737 vehicles,
• 20,342 premises and other locations,
• 6,133 flights and maritime vessels.

A total of 59 countries (including Cyprus) participated in the operation, as well as the organizations EUROPOL, INTERPOL, FRONTEX, AMERIPOL, EL PACCTO, and EU4FAST.

As part of the operation, the Office for Combating Human Trafficking conducted a total of 17 operations across Cyprus at various premises (bars, apartments). During the inspections, 57 women were identified; however, following an individual assessment, no evidence was found that they were victims of human trafficking, while one of them was found to be residing illegally in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.

Members of the District OPE, YA&M, and MMAD, as well as inspectors from the Labor Office, participated in the operations.