Human Cargo

[Diane Monaco]

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