Human Cargo

Diane Monaco dmonaco at pop3.utoledo.edu
Thu May 16 22:23:13 PDT 2002


Trafficking in human beings is one of the world's fastest-growing organized criminal activities. The combination of the collapse of the Soviet Union and socialism's state securities and the loosening of East European borders, coupled with a persistent chasm between rich and poor nations, has seen an increase in the resolve of people trying to flee their countries and of unscrupulous criminals ready to make a financial killing out of their desperation.

A 2001 report by the U.S. State Department estimates that at least 700,000 persons are trafficked each year across international borders. But some international observers put the figure at 2 million.

Europol, the European law enforcement agency, estimates the human-trafficking industry is worth several billion dollars a year, and the U.N. International Drug Control Program warns that human trafficking is "the fastest-growing facet of organized crime."

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/trafficking020515.html



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