Investigators in Europe and beyond have detained 219 suspected perpetrators during an international week of action against human trafficking.
Europol, the European police organization, said on Monday that almost 1,400 victims have been identified, including 153 children.
The operation targeted organized gangs guilty of sexual exploitation, forced criminality and begging. A total of 276 new investigations were initiated.
The examples presented by Europol included a case in Hungary, where a couple had forced six of their children to have sex with neighbours for money and beg in their village.
In Romania, a suspect was detained for forcing children into begging and prostitution.
In Laos, a Chinese man was reportedly detained for forcing Vietnamese captives to commit digital fraud. He is also said to have blackmailed their families into paying large sums of money for the return of their relatives.
Some 39 countries, mainly in Europe, including Germany, took part in the police action at the beginning of June.