4. Human trafficking
Annual revenue: $31.6 billion
Animals are suffering, and so are the people. It would sound harsh to say that at least most of the animals are dead, while dead people are worthless (unless we’re talking human organ trafficking, but that organized crime brings “mere” $1.2 billion per year). This is a high-risk crime since the penalties are appropriately harsh. On the “plus” side, the number of persecuted and accused culprits is relatively low for this pressing issue. Human Rights First states the majority of the enslaved people are women and girls (71%). Human trafficking facts: even though only 19% of the victims are exploited for sex, this brings 66% of the overall profit of human trafficking. The rest of the victims are being exploited for some manual or physical work.
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