The Kosovo Police, respectively the Directorate for the Investigation of Human Trafficking, during the joint action days that are part of the EMPACT planning and activities, organized by JAD SEE, where countries such as: Kosovo, Thailand, Vietnam, Colombia, Brazil, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Greece, Slovenia, etc., as well as representatives from EU4FAST, EUROPOL, INTERPOL and FRONTEX, in the period from 02.06.2025 – 07.06.2025, realised the operational plan ‘Spring 2025’.

During this operational plan, various activities have been developed, including: operations on streets, squares and shopping centers to identify children in street situations as potential victims of trafficking and joint operations with MINT, ATK inspectors and labour inspectors in the inspection/control of premises (live music) and massage centres, as well as a tactical plan related to escorts.

The police operations carried out in the aforementioned period have resulted in the following actions being taken and the initiation of cases and persons involved as following:

Inspection/control of 47 venues (live music) throughout the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, where were found in total:

• 482 persons (352 women and 130 men),

• of which 204 are citizens of Kosovo,

• 278 foreign citizens (264 from Albania, 8 from Serbia, 5 from North Macedonia, 1 from Montenegro),

• Of these inspected premises, 8 were closed for administrative violations by MINT inspectors.

Inspection of 67 massage centers where have been found in total:

• 149 persons (114 women and 35 men),

• 113 citizens of Kosovo,

• 36 foreign citizens (23 from Albania, 11 from Thailand, 1 from North Macedonia, 1 from Malawi),

• 22 massage(centers) premises were closed for administrative violations by MINT inspectors.

Within the framework of the operations carried out, the following cases have been initiated and actions have been taken:

Initiation of 10 cases for the criminal offenses of ‘child abuse or abandonment’, where the following were arrested:

• 10 female suspects

• 5 Kosovo citizens

• 5 foreign citizens (4 Albanian citizens, 1 citizen of North Macedonia)

• 15 child beggars have been identified, of whom 8 are Kosovars and 7 are foreign citizens.

• 3 other cases of begging were also identified, which were referred to the competent police station for minor offenses.

Initiation of 7 cases of ‘prostitution’ identified as ESCORT, where the following were arrested:

• 14 suspects, of whom 7 Kosovar men and 3 foreign women from Colombia, 2 from Venezuela, 1 from Brazil, 1 from Turkey, and 7 foreign women were referred for treatment under the law on foreigners (1 Venezuelan, 5 Colombian, 1 Turkish).

All suspects involved in the cases of ‘prostitution’ have been sent to court, where they have been sentenced to a fine and have been issued with an additional measure of expulsion from the territory of Kosovo and a ban on entry into the territory of the Republic of Kosovo for three years.

All workers found working in music venues and massage centers have been given the opportunity to declare whether any of them is a victim of any form of exploitation, but this has not resulted in any case. During this plan, a total of 7 documents have been seized from foreign persons, who have been referred for verification and treatment according to the law on foreigners.

Within the framework of the activities during this operational plan, a case has also been initiated for the criminal offense of ‘exploitation of victims of trafficking’, where in this case the following have been arrested and interviewed:

• 4 male Kosovar citizens as suspects.

Following the operational-investigative investigations, the Basic Prosecution Office in Gjilan issued an order for special investigative measures, which was implemented in connection with suspicions of committing the criminal offense of ‘encouraging or forcing prostitution’, where a Kosovar male person was arrested. The Kosovar female victim of the case was taken to a shelter for victims of violence.