INTERPOL has arrested 262 suspects in an international crackdown on migrant smuggling and alleged human trafficking across routes spanning the Mediterranean Sea and the West African Atlantic. The operation, code-named Operation Communis Maris, ran from October 5 to 8, 2026, and opened 434 investigations. INTERPOL says 109 potential human trafficking victims were identified and 1,715 irregular migrants were intercepted during the action days. Of the 262 people arrested, 221 were suspected of migrant smuggling offences, 16 were accused of human trafficking, and 25 were apprehended for other offences including producing and using fraudulent documents. The four-day exercise involved law enforcement and border management agencies from 16 countries across North and West Africa, southern Europe and the Middle East. INTERPOL, working with operational support from Europol, Frontex, AFRIPOL, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, aimed to dismantle organised crime networks and rescue people at risk. INTERPOL said 7,660 officers screened more than 378,000 people, monitored hotspots and strengthened security checks at strategic locations. Officials also deployed an Operational Coordination Unit in Athens, Greece, to facilitate intelligence sharing. During the operation, participating authorities identified 41 organised criminal groups involved in migrant smuggling. INTERPOL also carried out 210,594 searches through INTERPOL databases to help authorities identify suspects and obtain criminal intelligence. Several incidents were highlighted. Moroccan authorities intercepted a vessel carrying 70 prospective migrants, including 30 minors, after they spent six days at sea. Senegalese officials alerted neighbouring countries about a wooden boat, which Mauritanian authorities intercepted the next day with 80 passengers, including two children, and arrested three suspected organisers. Tunisian security operatives disrupted an attempted illegal sea crossing and arrested three nationals suspected of organising migrant smuggling. In Libya, authorities rescued 34 potential victims of human trafficking and arrested three suspects linked to an alleged network involved in human trafficking, migrant smuggling and extortion. Algerian law enforcement arrested six suspects connected to a migrant-smuggling network, with allegations including endangering minors. In Syria, coordinated maritime patrols and surveillance led to a raid on a facility linked to migrant smugglers, resulting in seven arrests, including an alleged network leader, and the interception of 22 irregular migrants. INTERPOL also said investigations extended beyond sea routes, with airport checks and targeting of fraudulent travel documents. Cyprus and Greece arrested suspects over attempts to travel with forged documents, and Moroccan authorities apprehended a person suspected of supplying fake travel documents. INTERPOL described the arrests as part of an ongoing international investigation, with 434 new investigations opened across participating countries.