Human trafficking in Switzerland is a business mainly run by Kosovars. In 25 percent of discovered cases of trafficking, citizens of Kosovo were involved, found the 2013 annual report of the Swiss federal police.
According to the report, the trafficking has taken on more sophisticated forms and it is no longer done only through illegal border crossing but increasingly through the use of forged documents. These documents don’t serve merely for entering Switzerland but also for securing the residence status in this country.
The police report also notes that human trafficking is a lucrative business especially in Kosovo. Kosovars make up 25% of those accused for this criminal activity in Switzerland, with an increase of 6 percent only in the last year. Syrians are second on the list at 5 percent. Kosovars are also first among victims of human trafficking with 40 percent. Swiss federal police notes that the large number of Kosovars involved in this phenomenon can be explained by the big Kosovar diaspora there.
“Kosovar families are very well connected throughout Europe. Unlike the Italian mafia, these ‘criminal networks’ have a less developed hierarchy”.
The main goal of these networks is money laundering in Switzerland in order to be able to purchase in Kosovo property of luxury constructions, writes aargauerzeitung.ch referring to the report. Human trafficking has become attractive for these groups for the fact it is profitable and the risk of being criminally prosecuted is low.
In the effort to combat human trafficking, the Swiss Federal Police has reiterated the role the Swiss police attaché in Kosovo has to play. A bilateral agreement between Switzerland and Kosovo is expected to be reached next year and it will enable the police attaché to take on more operational tasks.
