New US unit to help investigate human trafficking

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) The Justice Department is creating a unit to pursue human trafficking cases that often involve foreigners smuggled into the United States for forced labour or prostitution, the attorney general said.

''Human trafficking remains a serious problem here in the United States. I think too many of our citizens believe that this is something only occurring on foreign shores,'' Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said yesterday.

''It is a form of modern-day slavery,'' he told reporters in announcing the new unit within the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

Gonzales said it would be the first time the Civil Rights Division would have a team of lawyers working exclusively on human trafficking cases, an acknowledgment it has become a serious problem.

The unit initially will have four attorneys experienced in prosecuting human trafficking cases. Additional federal prosecutors and other staff will be added in future months, Justice Department officials said.

In the most recent year, the Justice Department charged 111 defendants in 32 human trafficking cases and obtained a record 98 convictions. Department officials said Mexico and South Korea were among the countries where victims came from. In the past six years, the number of defendants convicted has tripled, officials said.

They said the new unit would work with federal, state and local investigators to increase the number of human trafficking investigations and prosecutions throughout the nation.

Reuters SBA VP0522