Mauritania took part, alongside 15 other countries, in an international security operation coordinated by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) targeting criminal networks involved in migrant smuggling and human trafficking across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic route in West Africa.
The four-day operation, carried out from 5 to 8 October, led to the arrest of 262 people and the identification of 41 organised criminal groups, as well as the opening of 434 new investigations, according to a report published by the organisation.
The report said 221 of those arrested are suspected of involvement in migrant smuggling, while 16 others face charges related to human trafficking, and the cases of 25 people concern other offences, including forging and using false documents.
The operation also made it possible to identify 109 potential victims of human trafficking and to detect 1,715 irregular migrants.
In one of the main field operations on the Atlantic route, the Mauritanian authorities were notified by Senegalese officials that a boat had left Senegalese territorial waters, and were able to intercept it the following day.
The wooden boat was carrying 80 passengers, including two children, and the operation led to the arrest of three people suspected of organising the journey.
