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

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,…