History Main / HumanTraffickers

* ''Series/RizzoliAndIsles'': In the season three episode "Cuts Like A Knife" The killer in the episode, named "Cutthroat" traffic's young women in from Croatia and auctions the virgin girls to the highest bidder.

Criminals whose primary trade is the illegal transportation of live human beings; ranging from the smuggling of [[TheIllegal undocumented migrants]] across national borders, to selling people into [[MadeASlave forced labor and servitude]] (especially [[SexSlave involuntary prostitution]]).

** The Punisher goes after a trafficking ring in "The Slavers". Their treatment of their victims sets off every one of Frank's {{Berserk Button}}s regarding the mistreatment of women and children in general, and [[PayEvilUntoEvil how he deals with them]] is considered one of the most violent parts of the entire MAX run.

* ''VideoGame/MafiaIII'': [[TheKlan The Southern Union]] deals in kidnapping black people off the streets and selling them to rich people through auction. Which [[AntiHero Lincoln]] [[BerserkButton does not take kindly to at all]]. After he rescues the slaves, kills the slavers and takes over this operation, [[EvenEvilHasStandards he makes it VERY clear to his underbosses that they will need to find another way to earn money than dealing in the slave trade.]]

They tend to be sprawling, international organizations with seemingly infinite resources. Their resources are not used for their victims, who are typically kept in filthy cages until sold to the highest bidder, who is typically an immensely wealthy businessman or even TheEmpire.

They tend to be sprawling, international organizations with seemingly infinite resources. Their resources are not used for their victims, who are typically kept in filthy cages until sold to the highest bidder, who is typically an immensely wealthy businessman.

Very common trade of RuthlessForeignGangsters, TheMafiya and other Eastern European gangsters have a particular association with the trade. To a lesser extent, TheCartel and {{Evil Colonialist}}s will also dabble in this illicit business. Due to RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil and SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil, human traffickers are near-universally considered to be over the MoralEventHorizon. See SuperHumanTrafficking for a more fantastic variant. Contrast UndergroundRailroad, which is when people, persecuted or otherwise, are smuggled to safety, rather than being smuggled as cargo.

* In ''Manga/ShonanJunaiGumi'', Shinomi almost falls victim to this when her wealthy new boyfriend turns out to be a trafficker for the yakuza. Eikichi overhears some of his goons talking about their illegal activity in a public bathroom, and gives them (and their boss, when he shows up) the [[PayEvilUntoEvil most deserved]] and violent {{swirlie}} ever.

* The Film/LoveSimon, Literature/TheHateUGive, and Series/LoveVictor crossover Fanfic "Twelve Months" reveals [[spoiler: This is what happened to Simon after his disappearance. He's smuggled into Bulgaria and forced to work at a brothel for the majority of the story.]]

* ''Series/{{Rizzoli And Isles}}'': In the season three episode "Cuts Like A Knife" The killer in the episode, named "Cutthroat" traffic's young women in from Croatia and auctions the virgin girls to the highest bidder.

** In Season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', meta-human trafficking has become a global pandemic as every unscrupulous major player in the world considers meta-humans to be the next-gen superweapons. This is made worse because Lex Luthor has used his position as UN Secretary General to hamstring the Justice League's efforts to combat the trafficking. What makes this extra disturbing is that many of the meta-humans are young teenagers.

->'''Rick Blaine''': I don't buy or sell human beings.\\
'''Senor Ferrari''': Too bad. That's Casablanca's leading commodity. With refugees alone we can make a fortune if you work with me through the black market.

* In ''Comicbook/RedHoodTheLostDays'' Jason Todd discovers that his German mentor Egon is trafficking children. He responds by killing everyone involved in the operation, utilizing some of the deadly skills taught to him by Egon and the other mentors Talia found for him as well as his former training in less lethal methods under ComicBook/{{Batman}}.
* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'': Hob Gadling was involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade for several years during its heyday. On boasting about his success to Dream, he was told to knock it off (and he still feels guilty for it a few centuries later).

** The Punisher goes after a trafficking ring in "The Slavers". Their treatment of their victims sets off every one of Frank's {{Berserk Button}}s regarding the mistreatment of women and children in general, and his defeat of them is considered one of the most violent parts of the entire MAX run.

Very common trade of RuthlessForeignGangsters and {{Evil Colonialist}}s, TheMafiya and other Eastern European gangsters have a particular association with the trade. To a lesser extent, TheCartel will also dabble in this illicit business. Due to RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil and SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil, human traffickers are near-universally considered to be over the MoralEventHorizon. See SuperHumanTrafficking for a more fantastic variant. Contrast UndergroundRailroad, which is when people, persecuted or otherwise, are smuggled to safety, rather than being smuggled as cargo.

Very common trade of RuthlessForeignGangsters, TheMafiya and other Eastern European gangsters have a particular association with the trade. To a lesser extent, TheCartel will also dabble in this illicit business. Due to RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil and SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil, human traffickers are near-universally considered to be over the MoralEventHorizon. See SuperHumanTrafficking for a more fantastic variant. Contrast UndergroundRailroad, which is when people, persecuted or otherwise, are smuggled to safety, rather than being smuggled as cargo.

* ''Literature/RWBYBeforeTheDawn'' reveals that not only are there more human traffickers than the first two from the last book but that the humtsmen are working for an organization called The Crown led by a pair od twins named Jax and Gillian Asturias who have the goal to destroy Shade Academy and restore what was once a monarchy in Vacuo's past.

* ''Series/CharliesAngels'': Several episodes, including a large part of the cringeworthy criminal enterprise the Angels take down in Season 5's "Angel in Hiding" (a "modeling agency" used as a front to sell failed models -- i.e., those who refuse to give into sexual harassment -- into, among other things, human trafficking and prostitution).
* ''Series/CriminalMinds'' occasionally deals with human trafficking.

* ''Series/{{Trapped}}'': In one subplot of the first season of this NordicNoir series, the Captain and the purported Chief Engineer (actually just a gangster) of a ferry between Scandinavia and Iceland are involved in a conspiracy to smuggle African women into Iceland for prostitution.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'' has a twist on this: It's mostly male PrivateMilitaryContractors who are shown being trafficked when they fall into debt, being made to fight as a CannonFodder BoxedCrook by people like Viola (who gets called a trafficker). Carol, a PredatoryProstitute, has an arrangement with Viola where Carol gets men addicted to her, and charges them more and more money until they can't pay, at which point Viola steps in to profit off their labor..

* ''Literature/PinotNoir'' has a subplot involving a child-trafficking preacher, Kleetus Klementine, who has children kidnapped and caged to be later sold as pets.

Very common trade of RuthlessForeignGangsters; since TheGreatPoliticsMessup, TheMafiya and other Eastern European gangsters have a particular association with the trade. To a lesser extent, TheCartel will also dabble in this illicit business. Due to RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil and SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil, human traffickers are near-universally considered to be over the MoralEventHorizon. See SuperHumanTrafficking for a more fantastic variant. Contrast UndergroundRailroad, which is when people, persecuted or otherwise, are smuggled to safety, rather than being smuggled as cargo.

* The ''Film/{{Taken}}'' series is about an American man who gets into a lengthy feud with a gang of Eastern European sex traffickers, initially after they kidnap his daughter while she's on holiday in Paris. As shown in the first film, however, the Albanians are just the lower rung of a much larger organization that includes corrupt French and Swiss officials as well as an ArabOilSheikh.

* ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'': Several story missions and side activities has Aiden fighting against these guys, including a mission where he storms one of their auctions, guns down half of the traffickers, and then calls the cops on the survivors. [[TheIrishMob The Chicago South Club]] led by [[EvilOldFolks Dermot "Lucky" Quinn]] ran an international auction of selling kidnapped American and European women to the highest bidder.

* ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' has a controversial mission where the player intercepts a Syndicate boat transporting sex slaves and rescues them... so that they can work for a local pimp and earn money for the Saints instead of their enemies.
* ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'': [[spoiler: Dr. Angus Bumby and his Wonderland counterpart the Dollmaker use hypnosis to erase the memories of young girls and boys for the purpose of turning them into prostitutes and sex slaves]].

* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has a particularly disturbing sidequest where the Courier is tasked with investigating some missing persons from a refugee camp just outside of Vegas. Their search leads them to a pair of slavers who have been snatching people from nearby settlements to sell to the Fiends for torture and other unsavory activities. They even keep a log detailing their recent transactions, including the fact that they even raped the slaves themselves until they realized it lowered their value. Popping these psychos is easily one of the most satisfying moments in the entire game.
* The antagonists of ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' are involved in this, among other things. The EstablishingCharacterMoment of the BigBad is him welcoming some recently-hired mercenaries into his organisation, where he details the rules about keeping "the product" in good condition: "You can fuck 'em, boys, but be gentle".
* In ''VideoGame/TheCouncilOfHanwell'', the school headmaster has a chamber for displaying [[spoiler:kidnapped children]] in the school basement. [[spoiler:He is murdered by one of the kids who was transformed into an anomaly.]]
* ''VideoGame/CytusII'' has human trafficking as a major plot point. The perpetrators are the Mogura gang from Node 03. Nora's DLC chapter elaborates that not only do they force victims into prostitution, but they use babies for human experimentation. It's heavily implied that [[spoiler: PAFF/Aroma White, one of the main characters, is actually a girl named Kaori who was kidnapped and transformed into Aroma via MagicPlasticSurgery and brainwashing.]]

* In ''VisualNovel/MarcoAndTheGalaxyDragon'', large numbers of people were kidnapped by aliens ten years before the start of the game. Some of the victims, like Marco, were [[MadeASlave sold into slavery]], while others were dismembered and sold as HumanResources. [[spoiler:Astaroth was behind the kidnappings.]]

Unfortunately TruthInTelevision (although [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment how much so is disputed]], especially in regards with prostitution; for instance, controversial migrations scholar Laura Agustín disputes that so much prostitution is sex trafficking, other scholars say that prostitution ''is'' sex trafficking, and let's leave it at that).