INTERPOL has arrested 262 suspects and identified 109 potential trafficking victims in a global crackdown on migrant smuggling and trafficking networks. The four-day operation, code-named Operation Communis Maris, took place between October 5 and 8, 2026, across 16 countries in North and West Africa, southern Europe and the Middle East. INTERPOL said the joint action opened 434 investigations into criminal networks exploiting vulnerable migrants through the Mediterranean Sea and the West African Atlantic corridor. Authorities also intercepted 1,715 irregular migrants during the operation. Of the 262 people arrested, 221 were accused of migrant-smuggling offences, 16 were suspected of human trafficking, and 25 were apprehended over offences including the production and use of fraudulent travel documents. The operation was led by INTERPOL with operational support from Europol, Frontex, AFRIPOL, the International Organisation for Migration and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. It involved 7,660 law enforcement and border management officers who screened more than 378,000 people, monitored identified criminal hotspots and strengthened security checks at strategic locations. INTERPOL said 210,594 searches were carried out through its databases. The operation included maritime and land actions in multiple countries. Moroccan authorities intercepted a vessel carrying 70 prospective migrants, including 30 minors, after six days at sea. Senegalese authorities alerted neighbouring countries after a wooden boat left Senegal with 80 passengers, including two children, and Mauritanian authorities intercepted it the following day and arrested three suspected organisers. In Tunisia, security operatives disrupted an attempted illegal sea crossing and arrested three people suspected of organising migrant smuggling, recovering a boat, a marine engine and other equipment. In Libya, authorities rescued 34 potential trafficking victims and arrested three suspects linked to a trafficking, smuggling and extortion network. Algerian officers arrested six suspects linked to a migrant-smuggling network accused of endangering minors. In Syria, coordinated maritime patrols and surveillance led to a raid on a facility used by migrant smugglers, with seven suspects arrested, including the alleged network leader, and 22 irregular migrants intercepted. INTERPOL also said airport surveillance was intensified and suspects were targeted for fraudulent travel documents, including arrests in Cyprus and Greece, plus a case in Morocco involving a suspected supplier of fake passports and recruiters for irregular migration. The operation is described as part of ongoing work to dismantle transnational criminal networks and bring those responsible to justice.