More than 260 people were arrested and 41 migrant-smuggling networks operating between Africa and Europe were identified in a multi-country, four-day police operation, international police organization Interpol announced on Tuesday (November 10).

The four-day operation, code-named 'Communis Maris' (Common Sea in Latin), was conducted already over a month ago (October 5-8) the Lyon-based police agency said in a press release, adding that it led to the arrest of 221 suspected migrant smugglers and 16 alleged human traffickers.

In total, 7,660 officers across 16 countries in West and North Africa, Europe and the Middle East participated in the operation, which triggered over 430 new criminal investigations.

Participating nations included Algeria, France, The Gambia, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Senegal, Syria and Turkey, Interpol said.

An additional 25 individuals were taken into custody on related charges, including the creation and use of fraudulent travel documents. Checks conducted at key transit points such as airports in Cyprus and Greece led to several arrests of migrants carrying forged paperwork, Interpol reported.

Migrant smuggling is a highly profitable and meticulously organized business -- especially in border regions. Some networks transport thousands of migrants into Europe each year.

The main difference between migrant smuggling and human trafficking, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), is "financial or material benefit" vs. the actual exploitation of the victim and their person.

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Abuse, extortion and trafficking

Coordinated from operational bases in Athens and funded by the European Union, the initiative sought to disrupt dangerous smuggling routes, Interpol said.

"Smugglers exploit vulnerable populations, often subjecting them to abuse, extortion and trafficking, as well as risking migrants' lives on overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels," David Caunter, Director of Organised and Emerging Crime at Interpol, said in the press release.

During the operation, authorities intercepted several unseaworthy vessels attempting dangerous sea crossings. Among them was a boat off the coast of Morocco that had been adrift for six days carrying 70 people, including 30 minors, according to the press release.

Another wooden pirogue carrying 80 passengers was intercepted off Mauritania after departing from Senegal.

Thousands of migrants have lost their lives or gone missing in recent years trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea or the Atlantic route from Africa to reach Europe, fleeing conflict, political repression and economic hardship in their home countries.

According to the IOM's Missing Migrants Project, around 27,000 migrants have died or gone missing in the Central Mediterranean since 2014 alone.

with AFP