Human Trafficking in a Global Society:

Confronting Transnational Organized Crime and Human Trafficking in a Global Society

November 6th, 2012 Posted by Tracy Russo

On November 5th, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole addressed the 81^st INTERPOL Ministerial and General Assembly meeting in Rome, Italy. This gathering of INTERPOL member countries marked an important opportunity to recognize joint achievements, build relationships, discuss issues critical to our domestic and global security, and develop a path forward on international law enforcement.

Deputy Attorney General Cole noted the unprecedented level of cooperation between INTERPOL member countries which has led to the development of critical law enforcement tools of 24/7 communication, information sharing and coordinated responses.  He also emphasized two important areas that would benefit greatly from INTERPOL’s continued leadership and support and member countries’ investment, vigilance and cooperation: Transnational Organized Crime and Human Trafficking.

 “Transnational organized crime poses a significant and growing threat to the security of each of our nations (and citizens) and the international community as a whole.  Not only are criminal networks expanding, but they are also diversifying their activities – with dire implications for public safety, public health, democratic institutions and, in this already tough economic climate, the financial stability of nations across the globe.  The United Nations estimates that, in 2009, transnational organized criminal activities generated $870 billion in illegal proceeds – equivalent to almost 7 percent of world exports.” 

To respond to the threat of transnational organized crime, Deputy Attorney General Cole called for a “whole-of-government approach” focused on coordinating resources and expertise:

“We realized that law enforcement measures alone would not fully counter the threat of transnational organized crime.  Included in this approach was: the work of our Department of the Treasury to impose financial sanctions on major transnational organized crime groups and individuals; and the work of our Department of State to deny entry to the United States to transnational criminal aliens and others who have been targeted for financial sanctions.  As a direct result of these actions, five transnational organized crime groups that span the globe already have been subjected to these crippling financial sanctions.”

Deputy Attorney General Cole also stressed the need for “enhanced global attention and a unified law enforcement response” to fight against human trafficking:

“One of the greatest horrors of this crime is that traffickers view their victims as nothing more than a commodity, something that can be bought and sold, or simply taken, and eventually discarded… This crime can take many forms. It is the young woman who moves to another country for the promise of a new life – but instead finds herself enslaved and repeatedly sold for sex. Or the child who ran away from home and finds herself in the same situation because, in desperate need, she accepted help from the wrong person.” 

Although the specific details may differ, these heinous crimes often have two common elements.  First, human trafficking  is hidden in plain sight – behind the veil of a prostitution offense, a domestic abuse incident, a physical or sexual assault, a labor dispute, or an immigration crime.  Second, victims are often traumatized, and can be weary of – and reluctant to corporate with – law enforcement officials for fear of repercussions from their captors. This is why educating first responders about the factors that may indicate a potential human trafficking offense is a critical step in improving our ability to identify and help trafficking victims.

In front of an international audience, Deputy Attorney General Cole reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to preventing and fighting human trafficking in all of its forms. Last year, the department set a new record in the number of defendants charged in human trafficking cases. Additionally, over the last three years, there has been a 30 percent increase in the number of forced labor and human trafficking cases charged.
The United States has also partnered with law enforcement officials from Mexico and Ukraine, to Germany and Canada to dismantle sex traffic networks and successfully bring perpetrators behinds these crimes to justice. This work – which showcases the value of engaging in global partnerships to combat human trafficking –sends an unmistakable message: we will relentlessly pursue those who trade in the misery of other human beings and we will rescue their victims and bring the perpetrators to justice.

However, these efforts are only the beginning. To successfully combat human trafficking, as Deputy Attorney General said, “prosecution alone is not the answer,” which is why we are bringing a renewed focus to preventative measures like:

• Prevention through prosecution of trafficking rings before they can ensnare other victims;
• prevention through deterrence so that our prosecutions dissuade others who may consider engaging in this crime;
• prevention through public awareness; and, lastly,
• prevention through the education of potential victims who, driven by fear, poverty, or lack of education, often unwittingly place their lives in the hands of exploitative traffickers.

No single country or law enforcement agency has the power, or the means, to tackle the global criminal enterprises we face.  Only by communicating effectively, sharing intelligence and combining resources – within our own governments and with our law enforcement partners around the globe – can we truly understand current and emerging trends and build effective strategies to anticipate, combat and put an end to these crimes. 

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FBI - A Byte Out of History - Using Ultra Intelligence in World War II:

 A Byte Out of History
A Most Helpful Ostrich: Using Ultra Intelligence in World War II

10/06/11

Special Agent Arthur Thurston, head of the FBI’s London office during World War II

Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower thought the intelligence was vital to Allied victory in World War II. Eisenhower is said to have called it “decisive.” Churchill was reported to be even stronger in his assessment to King George VI.
The intelligence was called “Ultra’’—because it was so highly secret—and it consisted of intercepted and later decoded radio and cable messages sent by the Nazis to their clandestine networks in Europe and South America during the war. Ultra was launched by British intelligence in 1941 and ultimately became a cooperative Allied effort.
The FBI learned of Ultra in November 1942 and was immediately interested because of its implications on investigative efforts during the war. We gave the intelligence we were able to obtain through Ultra another name—“Ostrich.” The code name was arbitrary, but the information it provided was anything but. The intercepted messages—whether decrypted by British cipher experts, U.S. Army and Navy code breakers, or the new and rapidly improving cryptanalysis team in the FBI Laboratory—were invaluable to our work to protect the homeland from German espionage and sabotage.
The Ostrich information was often hard to come by. In those days, secrecy was paramount and cooperation was just beginning between the FBI and overseas intelligence services like the British Secret Intelligence Service, now more commonly known as MI-6. But through the Bureau’s newly formed legal attaché office in London—headed by Special Agent Arthur Thurston and his assistant, John Cimperman—the FBI began reviewing the British decrypts at MI-6 in January 1943. The bits of intelligence related to possible German espionage on U.S. soil were passed to FBI Headquarters and then on to Bureau agents for action.
The information was especially valuable to our work in South America, where in June 1940—under orders from President Franklin D. Roosevelt—the FBI had set up the Special Intelligence Service, or SIS, to pinpoint and neutralize Nazi spy rings and intelligence activities in the Western Hemisphere.

Ostrich was instrumental in the overall successes of the Bureau’s Special Intelligence Service reflected in the graphic above.

It helped us, for example, in Argentina, where a network of secret Nazi radio stations had sprung up after being shut down in Brazil in 1942. With the help of Ostrich messages decoded both by the British and by cryptanalysts in the FBI Laboratory, the Bureau learned of the strong political influence and extensive intelligence activities of German agent Johannes Becker, mapped out the operation of his ring, disrupted its work throughout the war, and later shut it down completely in the summer of 1945.
Without Ostrich, the FBI would not have been as successful in pinning down the extent of Nazi espionage in South America through the SIS. On a broader level, Ostrich intelligence enabled the Bureau to control the movements of its double agents and ensure they were successful in penetrating German intelligence. It was, in the end, one of the FBI’s most significant sources of intelligence in World War II.
Of course, as the war ended, so did the information stream provided by Ostrich and Ultra. But the lessons learned would continue on—most especially in our efforts to penetrate Soviet intelligence in the coming Cold War through cooperative cryptanalytic ventures like Venona. Today, such pioneering information-sharing initiatives are now widespread and widely recognized as key to the work of the FBI and its global partners in protecting the world from terrorists, spies, and dangerous criminals.
Resources:
- FBI History
- History stories

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