Interpol to launch anti-people smuggling operation

Global police body Interpol said Friday it will launch a new operation targeting organised criminal networks behind people smuggling.

Operation Hydra will focus on individuals wanted for people smuggling, including through issuing appeals to the public, Interpol announced after a two-day meeting of experts at its headquarters in Lyon, France.

The operation "will aim to increase the real-time exchange of police information worldwide so as to more effectively investigate migrant smugglers and dismantle the criminal organisations to which they may belong," Interpol said in a statement.

Interpol has not set a timeframe for the launch of Operation Hydra, but said it would be based on the model of previous so-called Infra (International Fugitives Round-up and Arrest) initiatives.

Interpol will also carry out regional operations in Africa through its offices in Abidjan and Nairobi, modelled on its Spartacus initiative in Latin America, which targeted human trafficking.