Human Trafficking in Narcotics Investigations Sponsored by Rocky Mountain HIDTA and Hope for Justice (1)

Synopsis:

 There are an estimated 50 million human trafficking victims worldwide. In the United States alone, 400  thousand people are exploited through either sex trafficking or labor trafficking. In 2021, these traffickers  earned approximately $150 billion dollars, more than any fortune 500 company including Apple, Amazon,  Disney, General Motors and Ford. What does human trafficking have to do with narcotics trafficking, and how  can taking this training help my narcotics investigations? Human traffickers use numerous methods to select,  groom and maintain control over their victims. In particular, once a victim is selected and the grooming process  begins, the trafficker almost always introduces an illegal substance to the victim. That substance creates a  dependency/addiction that the trafficker leverages against the victim. That addiction, coupled with the other  psychological and physiological dependencies created by the trafficker, make it near impossible for the victim  to escape. When law enforcement encounters a human trafficker,…