Human trafficking

The latest data concerning migrant traffic to Greece is shocking as coastal guards gathered 55,000 irregular migrants in July alone and another 32,000 people in June.

Islands like Mytilene (Lesbos), capital of the North Aegean region, face huge problems. The island tallied 88,000 people in its most recent population count.

Figures for July

More than 2,000 people have died so far this year trying to make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe, the International Organization for Migration said on August 4, making it the world's most dangerous migrant route.

Bulgaria remains one of the primary source countries of human trafficking in the European Union and government corruption creates an environment enabling some trafficking crimes, the US State Department has said.

The Turkish Coast Guard Command has rescued more than 20,000 migrants in multiple operations in the Aegean Sea since the beginning of this year, according to figures from the body.

Thailand on July 24 said it would indict 72 people including a senior army officer over human trafficking after the grim trade in migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh rocked the Southeast Asian region.

The fight against trafficking in persons is one of the priorities of Serbia's OSCE Chairmanship, Interior Ministry (MUP) official Aleksandar Nikolic has said.

The state secretary with the MUP spoke on Tuesday, addressing the 15th Alliance against Trafficking in Persons Conference held in Vienna.

Some 500-550 Bulgarians a year become victims of human trafficking, according to official statistics, as cited by Kamelia Dimitrova, Secretary of Bulgaria's National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings.

Dimitrova took part in a press conference on the occasion of the launch of a project aimed at fighting human trafficking.

Syrians have begun to dominate human smuggling activities in the Aegean Sea that originate in Turkey, police have said amid frequent attempts by refugees set-ting sail across the sea in an effort to reach EU-member Greece.

Bosnian police in cooperation with colleagues in France have arrested seven persons and raided several sites, targeting organized crime rings and human traffickers. The raids took place in Zenica, Vlasenica, Jajce and Prijedor.

The joint action, code-named CD, targeted human traffickers in relation to labour exploitation, stealing and begging in France.

The European Union will next week activate the first phase of a plan to disrupt the business of human traffickers in the Mediterranean and destroy the boats they have been using to ships tens of thousands of migrants toward the EU, officials said.