Research for this piece was conducted during the summer of 2003.

Human trafficking is an increasingly lucrative enterprise, one that generates an annual figure that the UN estimates is $8 to $10 billion. This kind of capital has attracted and will continue to attract well-organized, professional criminal groups that incorporate human trafficking into a network of illegal ventures, including the sex trade and gun and narcotic smuggling. The ever more complicated nature of these associations has made this problem progressively more difficult for national and international law enforcement and immigration authorities to address.