Organised Immigration Crime

It’s estimated that globally between two and four million people are trafficked across borders and within their own country every year. Human trafficking is believed to be the third largest source of income for organised crime.The term ‘organised immigration crime’ is used to describe both the facilitation of illegal entry into, and presence in, the country and also human trafficking.  

People smuggling – This terms refers to the provision of a service or goods that will facilitate illegal migration

Human trafficking – This term refers to the illegal movement of a person into or through a country for the purposes of the exploitation of that person.

The most frequent form of trafficking seen locally has been the trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation. These cases have predominately involved females who have been brought into the country on the promise of employment but have then been forced to work in prostitution. PSNI have carried out a number of successful investigations in the past year in which victims have been recovered in such circumstances.

In the past the vice trade in Northern Ireland was a relatively small industry that was largely “on street”. In recent year , the vice trade in Northern Ireland has become more organised and has moved “off street” into private residences, apartment blocks and hotels and an increasing number of brothels operating in Northern Ireland have links to organised crime gangs.

During 2010.2011 the PSNI identified 23 victims of human trafficking. The majority of the victims identified were Chinese national but other nationalities noted were Nigerian, Hungarian, Bolivian, Albanian and UK nationals.

The Blue Blindfold Campaign (www.blueblindfold.org.uk)

In January 2011 the Justice Minister, David Ford launched the Blue Blindfold campaign. The international campaign was designed to raise awareness and to encourage local authorities, front line health professional and members of the public to open their eyes to the horrors of human trafficking enabling them to support the victims of human trafficking. The campaign was promoted across Northern Ireland.

 

 

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