Law enforcement agencies in 14 EU countries, together with Europol, exposed a network of criminals who found Ukrainian refugees on social networks and fraudulently tried to sell them into labor or sexual slavery.
Source: Europol
“The online investigations focused on the monitoring of posts offering help to refugees for transportation, accommodation and work. Dating sites and recruitment websites were monitored, as well as platforms offering sexual services.
Investigators identified suspicious advertisements targeting Ukrainian refugees, looked into tips received from citizens, reviewed indicators of potential trafficking of human beings for sexual and labour exploitation and updated their situational awareness on existing online platforms linked to trafficking activities.”
A total of 125 online platforms were tracked, 9 trafficking suspects and 9 possible victims were identified.
So far, 15 new investigations have been launched, involving 93 EU officers. Europol notes that online platforms have stepped up measures to combat abuses against Ukrainian refugees, but they still receive a significant number of reports from perpetrators, primarily against Ukrainian women.
Investigators identified attempts to lure victims through offers of “photo shoots”, a “bright future”, which tricked them into sexual exploitation, or accommodation offers specifically targeted at Ukrainian refugees.
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