Traffic laws cover people, drugs, and weapons and are enforced internationally. US laws against human trafficking include forced prostitution and labor, with special immigration status for victims. Drug trafficking laws target large quantities of illegal substances, and arms trafficking laws prevent illegal trading of weapons. Enforcement efforts focus on border controls and protecting legal national stockpiles.
Traffic laws generally fall into three broad categories: people, illegal drugs, and weapons. These laws exist in countries around the world and are also enforced internationally. In the United States, both state and federal governments promote and enforce trafficking laws.
United States federal laws against human trafficking include forced prostitution through fraud or coercion. These crimes are usually committed against women and children in situations of vulnerability due to their geographic location or economic circumstances. The perpetrators get their victims through promises of work or a better life in another country or sometimes through kidnappings. The traffickers then sell the victims and sometimes the buyers use the victims for organ harvesting. US law provides special immigration status for recovered sex trafficking victims, and the law requires that child victims be given shelter.
Laws against human trafficking also include forced labour, debt bondage and slavery. As with forced sex, trafficking often involves luring victims with promises of work and a place to live in another region or country. Through coercion and physical abuse, traffickers force victims to work for free. Sometimes the smugglers tell them that they must first pay off the debt owed to get the job and transport costs to the new location. Migrant workers and the poor are often victims of these crimes.
Drug trafficking laws target high-end pharmaceutical companies that deal in large quantities of illegal substances. These substances are mainly cocaine, heroin and marijuana. However, other substances such as methamphetamines and LSD are also included, and the penalties for trafficking increase dramatically with the amount of illegal substance involved. Penalties can range from a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and millions of US dollars (USD) in fines to a mandatory prison sentence for a third conviction for human trafficking. Proceeds from drug trafficking are often used to purchase illegal weapons to protect the drug operation from competitors and law enforcement agencies.
Countries around the world also have bans on arms trafficking, sometimes referred to as “gun smuggling.” Arms traffic laws prevent arms trading that is not sanctioned by law or government. Illicit arms trafficking often involves small or light weapons such as handguns and automatic rifles to shoulder-mounted rocket launchers. These items are easily smuggled, traded and sold. Because of the ease with which guns can be transported and sold, gun trafficking laws and enforcement efforts are heavily focused on border controls and the protection of legal national stockpiles.
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