Active Watchlist

Ongoing Federal Investigations & Prosecutions

Operation Cross Country (FBI)

The FBI’s annual nationwide operation targeting child sex trafficking continues as one of the largest coordinated anti-trafficking law enforcement actions in the United States. Operation Cross Country XIV (2023) resulted in the identification of 59 minor victims and 103 arrests across multiple states. The operation coordinates hundreds of local, state, and federal agencies alongside the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Status: Annual operation; ongoing. Planning for 2025–2026 cycle underway.

Southeast Asian Cyber Scam Compound Investigations

A major multi-agency investigation targets the network of cyber scam compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines where victims are trafficked and forced to conduct online fraud operations. Tens of thousands of victims, predominantly from China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and other Asian countries, have been lured with fake job offers, held in guarded compounds, and forced to run romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and pig butchering schemes. The FBI, HSI, and Interpol are coordinating with local law enforcement on rescue operations and criminal network dismantlement.

Status: Active multi-national investigation. Rescued victims number in the thousands; criminal networks remain largely operational.

Illicit Massage Business Enforcement

Federal and state investigations continue targeting illicit massage businesses (IMBs) operating as fronts for sex trafficking across the United States. The DOJ estimates there are over 9,000 IMBs nationwide. Recent operations have focused on the financial networks and transnational organized crime groups that recruit, transport, and rotate women between locations. Multiple federal RICO cases are pending.

Status: Multiple ongoing federal and state investigations across at least 20 states.

Forced Labor in US Supply Chains

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues aggressive enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which creates a rebuttable presumption that goods from Xinjiang, China are produced with forced labor. In fiscal year 2024, CBP reviewed over 7,000 shipments valued at more than $3.5 billion under the UFLPA. Ongoing investigations target solar panel components, cotton and textiles, tomatoes, and polysilicon originating from Xinjiang.

Status: Active enforcement. CBP withhold release orders increasing in scope and frequency.

Online Child Sexual Abuse Material Networks

The DOJ Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and FBI are conducting multiple concurrent investigations into online CSAM distribution networks, sextortion rings, and the emerging threat of AI-generated CSAM. NCMEC received over 36 million CyberTipline reports in 2023. Key areas of focus include end-to-end encrypted platforms, dark web forums, and the use of cryptocurrency for payment.

Status: Active and expanding. Multiple sealed indictments expected.

International Operations

Interpol Operations Against Trafficking Networks

Interpol’s Trafficking in Human Beings unit coordinates multinational operations:

• Operation Liberterra: Multi-phase operations across Africa, targeting West African sex trafficking networks operating routes to Europe. Multiple phases have led to hundreds of arrests and the identification of thousands of victims.
• Operation Storm Makers II: Targeting labor trafficking networks exploiting migrants in Southeast Asia, with particular focus on the fishing industry and manufacturing sectors.
• Operation Turquesa: Coordinated operations across Central and South America targeting child trafficking networks and migrant exploitation along trafficking routes.

Status: All ongoing in multiple phases.

Libya Migrant Exploitation

International attention continues on the exploitation of sub-Saharan African migrants in Libya, where detention centers and smuggler-controlled warehouses serve as sites of forced labor, sexual exploitation, and ransom extraction. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has open investigations. The UN has documented “slave market” conditions where migrants are bought and sold.

Status: ICC investigation ongoing. Conditions on the ground remain largely unchanged despite international pressure.

European Anti-Trafficking Operations

Europol and Eurojust coordinate ongoing operations against trafficking networks operating within and into Europe:

• Nigerian networks trafficking women through Libya to Italy and beyond (via the Edo State recruitment model)
• Vietnamese networks running cannabis cultivation operations and nail salon exploitation in the UK and Ireland
• Romanian and Bulgarian networks operating forced begging and pickpocket rings across Western Europe
• Ukrainian refugee exploitation networks operating in Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic since 2022

Status: Multiple concurrent investigations across EU member states.

Pending Legislation & Policy

United States

• TVPA Reauthorization: The Trafficking Victims Protection Act has been due for reauthorization since 2022. Multiple reauthorization bills have been introduced with provisions for increased victim services funding, expanded labor trafficking enforcement, and technology-specific provisions targeting AI-generated CSAM and sextortion.
• EARN IT Act reintroduction: Provisions targeting online platforms’ liability for CSAM distribution continue to generate debate between child safety advocates and digital privacy organizations.
• State-level safe harbor expansions: Multiple states have pending legislation to expand safe harbor protections (which prevent prosecution of trafficking victims for offenses committed as a result of their trafficking) to include adult victims, not just minors.

International

• EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive: Implementation ongoing, requiring large companies to identify and mitigate forced labor risks in their supply chains.
• UK Modern Slavery Act reform: Proposals to strengthen the enforcement mechanism, add financial penalties for non-compliance with transparency reporting, and expand the role of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.
• Australia Modern Slavery Act review: Parliamentary inquiry examining whether the Act needs penalties for non-compliance (currently relies on “name and shame” approach).

Emerging Threats

AI-Generated CSAM

The proliferation of AI image generation technology has created a new vector for child sexual abuse material. Perpetrators use open-source and commercial AI models to generate photorealistic CSAM without directly abusing a child, complicating legal frameworks that often require proof of real victim. The DOJ, NCMEC, and international bodies are working to close legal gaps and develop detection tools. Multiple prosecutions under existing obscenity statutes have been initiated.

Financially Motivated Sextortion

A dramatic surge in financially motivated sextortion targeting minors, predominantly teenage boys, has been identified by the FBI, NCMEC, and international authorities. Networks operating primarily from Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire use social media to trick minors into sharing intimate images, then demand payment under threat of distribution. Multiple suicides have been linked to sextortion. The FBI declared it an “escalating crisis” in 2023.

Cryptocurrency and Trafficking Finance

The use of cryptocurrency in trafficking-related financial flows is growing. CSAM purchases, cyber scam compound operations, and ransom payments increasingly use Bitcoin, Monero, and stablecoins. Blockchain analysis firms and FinCEN are expanding capabilities, but privacy coins and mixing services complicate tracing.

Climate-Driven Trafficking Vulnerability

Climate change is emerging as a trafficking risk multiplier. Extreme weather events, desertification, flooding, and crop failure are displacing populations and creating vulnerability to traffickers. The IOM has identified climate-related migration as a growing pathway to exploitation, particularly in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Central America.