human trafficking

The 3FM fundraiser Serious Request: Lifeline raised 1,418,513 euros, the station announced at the end of the fundraiser on Christmas Eve. The radio station and the Red Cross raised money for the victims of human trafficking this year. 

A woman from Iran drowned on the Channel between France and England and was found in Dutch waters. Her body was discovered a few dozen kilometers off the coast of IJmuiden in August, NOS reports. Two suspected human traffickers will appear in court in France on Wednesday.

As far as is known, this was the first time that the body of a drowned migrant was discovered in Dutch waters. The suspects are a Dutch-Guinean man and a man from Afghanistan. They were arrested in October and face 10 years in prison for assisting undocumented migrants and manslaughter, the broadcaster writes. 

The Koninklijke Marechaussee intercepted a tour bus containing around 65 Moldovan people near the asylum center in Ter Apel on Monday morning. The 57-year-old bus driver and a 50-year-old co-driver were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, a spokesperson for the Marechaussee said to NU.nl.

Sixteen undocumented migrants were found hiding in the back of a truck at the port of IJmuiden on Thursday. Among them were four children, one woman and eleven men, of various nationalities, the Koninklijke Marechaussee, a military policing force tasked with border security, said on Facebook. 

An employee at the port, who asked to remain anonymous, told NH Nieuws that the children were "no older than around 8". He was there when the truck was opened. "There stood a small boy with a teddy bear in his hands", the port worker said.

There is less and less insight into victims of human trafficking, with especially children who are sexually exploited falling out of sight, according to a new report by the National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence against Children. This puts the protection of victims at risk, Coordinator Herman Bolhaar said. He blames the reduction at least partly on new privacy legislation.

The Koninklijke Marechaussee found a total of 23 migrants hiding in trucks at Hoek van Holland on Tuesday. Two truck drivers were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, the Marechaussee, a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military and is responsible for border security, said on Facebook.

Police in the Dutch province of Limburg cast a wide net to snare as many criminal suspects as possible in a major stop-and-search operation targeting drivers and vehicle passengers on Thursday. Among the 17 people arrested during the day were suspects taken into custody for human trafficking, weapons charges, and drug charges.

One person was found with over 18 thousand euros in cash, and was detained on suspicion of money laundering. “Another driver stood out for carrying a large amount of chemicals used in the preparation and production of hard drugs,” police said.

The Koninklijke Marechaussee found 18 stowaways in the back of a truck at the Europoort in the port of Rotterdam on Saturday night. Seven of the stowaways were children between the ages of 1 and 15 years, the Marechassee said on Facebook.

The Marechaussee, a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military and is responsible for border security, found the people hiding behind a double wall in the truck's cargo hold. According to the Marechaussee, it involves several families, believed to be from India.

The Dutch government is preparing more housing and counseling for victims of human trafficking, Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health, Welfare and Sports announced. A total of 36 new reception centers will be opened in five municipalities this year.

State Secretary Tamara van Ark of Social Affairs and Employment called on the public to report abuses in nail salons in the Netherlands. There are signals of human trafficking and exploitation in the fast growing sector. "The Inspectorate works through reports, then they can intervene. It is therefore important that we all keep our eyes open, because we can not do it alone", she said to NOS.

The police caught five escorts working without the necessary permits during an undercover operation against illegal prostitution and human trafficking in Breda on Saturday. One of the sex workers had her 2-year-old daughter waiting in the car while she worked, the police said. 

Veilig Thuis, the organization that deals with child abuse and domestic violence, was called in after the discovery of the toddler in the car. "The file of this family is known there; Veilig Thuis is working on it", the police said.