“Slavery is illegal everywhere.” So said the New York Times, repeated at the World Economic Forum, and used as a mantra of advocacy for over 40 years. The truth of this statement has been taken for granted for decades. Yet our new research reveals that almost half of all countries in the world have yet to actually make it a crime to enslave another human being.

Virtually all the Nigerian women forced into prostitution in Germany were bound to their madams through a bizarre voodoo curse. One year ago, the spiritual leader Oba Ewuare II issued a countercurse in the hope of putting a stop to human-trafficking in the region. Has it helped? A visual story by Alexander Epp and Olaf Heuser.

Palm Beach multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls. Prosecutors, including future Trump labor secretary Alexander Acosta, cut Epstein an extraordinary plea deal. By Emily Michot, Julie K. Brown.

Nearly 100 human trafficking victims have been rescued in a major police operation in Sudan, including dozens of children forced to work in illegal gold mines, Interpol said on Monday. Operation Sawiyan involved 200 Sudanese police officers who rescued 94 people, including 85 minors, from criminal networks in and around the capital, Khartoum, in an Interpol-led week-long crackdown last month, the global police organisation said.

More than two dozen Indian girls are safe from human traffickers after a man alerted authorities with a single tweet. An Indian man named Adarsh Shrivastava found himself traveling through the Northern Indian State of Uttar Pradesh last Thursday when he noticed a very peculiar sight on his train: 26 girls, all between the ages of 10 and 14, appearing restless and nervous in his cabin.

A disturbing discovery near an abandoned plant off I-19. A documentary crew is shown an underground bunker believed to be used for human trafficking of children. Tucson Police tells us that they are not ruling out the possibility that it was used for human trafficking, but they say they believe the bunker is most likely being used as a homeless camp.

An Indian pop star, Daler Mehndi, has been sentenced to two years in prison for smuggling migrants abroad. Mehndi and six others were accused in 2003 of cheating people of large sums of money by falsely promising to take them to Western countries. The singer was convicted on Friday in the northern state of Punjab. But he was released on bail soon after.

In a bipartisan 388 to 25 vote, the House of Representatives approved legislation on Tuesday to make it easier for states to prosecute websites that facilitate prostitution and sex trafficking—including trafficking of underage girls. But critics say that the legislation, known as the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), could undermine a key legal protection for free speech online.

Many people find Moore’s alleged sexual assaults disturbing, but the romantic pursuit of teens appears to be an accepted practice in some parts of the fundamentalist Christian community. By Matt Kwong.

Because of the intervention, many recovery programs in Oklahoma remain exempt from state oversight. By Amy Julia Harris, Shoshana Walter.

Almost 100 potential victims of human trafficking have been blocked by Border Force officers at Glasgow Airport and returned to their countries of origin since last November, figures show. More than 300 men and women were interviewed by Safeguarding and Trafficking (SAT) officers on suspicion of being targets of modern slavery. Over 80 percent of those interviewed were Romanian and fewer than 50 were men.

Modern slavery and human trafficking is far more prevalent than previously thought, with a recent crackdown lifting the lid on the scale of the crime and potentially tens of thousands of victims in the UK, the National Crime Agency has said.

International police body Interpol announced a new project Friday that will identify and dismantle origanised crime networks between Africa and Asia that have devastated wildlife and made ivory a sought-after luxury. Interpol, headquartered in the eastern French city of Lyon, said the initiative will focus on providing increased resources to countries linked to the illegal wildlife trade—especially as it relates to ivory, rhino horns and Asian big cats. Elephant and rhinoceros...

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday refused to hold KBR Inc (KBR.N) liable for alleged human trafficking, in connection with the 2004 kidnapping and murder by insurgents of 12 Nepali men being transported in Iraq to work for a subcontractor at a U.S. military base. By Jonathan Stempel.

Chinese officials have seized 3.1 tonnes (more than 3.4 tons) of illegally trafficked pangolin scales from a port in Shanghai, according to state media. It's the largest such seizure China has ever made, Xinhua News Agency reports. Pangolins are the world's most widely trafficked mammals — their meat is a delicacy and their scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

For girls and women from the Perna caste, entering the sex trade is a normal next step after marriage and childbirth. By Maya Prabhu.

The sex classifieds site generated millions — and also made its owners targets of law enforcement. A criminal case will decide their fate. By Kate Knibbs.

Photojournalist Sandra Hoyn visited Kandapara and documented life inside the brothel with a series of vivid images. They tell the stories of sex workers who come from poor families (often born inside the brothel) and have no freedom or rights.

Top Oakland Police Department Officials Looked Away as East Bay Cops Sexually Exploited and Trafficked a Teenager. By Darwin BondGraham and Ali Winston. (June 15, 2016)

The Chinese government continues to illegally harvest organs from millions of its innocent prisoners despite saying it had ended the practice two years ago, a decade-long study has alleged. Experts estimate between 60,000 and 100,000 prisoners of conscience are executed annually and have their hearts, livers and other organs removed to use for transplants.