Since the beginning of the year, the police have launched 126 large-scale actions structured on the fight against human trafficking, during which they carried out 600 house searches to identify human traffickers, Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu said on Friday, on the occasion of the European Anti-Trafficking Day.

„Following these 600 house searches, multiple organised groups have been dismantled. There are around 506 people who have been subject to judicial proceedings of various types, 148 have been remanded in custody, 83 are under house arrest,” Predoiu said.

He said that the Interior Ministry’s structures also focused on recovering the gains from human trafficking and, since the beginning of 2024, the Romanian Police has seized and confiscated almost half a million lei, 300,000 euros and 77,000 dollars.

The minister added that human trafficking groups have become specialised and there are groups that deal with recruitment, others with the transfer of these people across the border, others with their exploitation, their exploitation in third countries in the European Union, especially in Western Europe.

Predoiu insisted that the fight against human trafficking must engage several institutions and he stressed the importance of prevention and education in this respect.

He added that the involvement of state institutions is not enough, and state institutions must cooperate with civil society, with the family, must cooperate nationally and internationally with similar institutions and must constantly adapt their approach to this phenomenon, so that the response is commensurate to the challenge.

AGERPRES