Human trafficking and smuggling was hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, but has not been stopped, Interpol said in a report released Thursday.The coronavirus pandemic disrupted air and sea travel around the world, with reports of ship passengers being refused a docking permit fearing they could bring the virus with them, and airline companies being brought to the verge of bankruptcy as few flights could depart as planned. In this light, criminal activity involving the smuggling and trafficking of people suffered a blow as well, but crime still continues.
Criminals have upped their prices and now risk the lives of those attempting to reach safer, wealthier lands even more, Interpol secretary-general Jurgen Stock explained.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has not blunted the determination of organized crime groups to prey on the vulnerable and make profit from these crimes,” he said, adding that “it is essential that law enforcement continues to cooperate and communicate internationally.”
Despite several action films that depict Interpol agents as police officers with global jurisdiction powers who can work around the world as they take down dangerous people, the real service relies on the cooperation of local, national and regional police units to achieve its goals and is mainly concerned with gathering information about crimes.
Interpol leads the war against online child pornography, locating missing persons and solving financial crimes, former head of Interpol Israel Anat Garnit told Haaretz in 2018.
According to the press release, 64 men died from asphyxia when they were smuggled from Malawi to Mozambique in a truck at the end of March. In Southeast Asia, the number of Rohingya refugees attempting to arrive in Malaysia by sea tripled between March and April. The reason that they fled was they feared catching coronavirus in refugee camps. This demand led to smugglers increasing their prices.