On September 12, 2024, VANGUARD, represented by Dr. Carlotta Carbone participated in the 24th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology (ESC 2024). The ESC 2024 annual conference offered participants a valuable opportunity to share findings from their own research projects and gain insights into studies being conducted across Europe, serving also as a space for members to connect, exchange ideas, and explore shared research interests. Dr. Carbone, a researcher at Transcrime – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan, Italy and member of the VANGUARD consortium, specialised in trafficking of human beings (THB), presented VANGUARD initial findings in a dedicated panel on “Unveiling the Dynamics of Trafficking in Human Beings: A European Perspective”. After a brief introduction to the VANGUARD project and its objectives, she highlighted the preliminary findings from the desktop and empirical research conducted within the project, seeking to unravel the dynamics of sex trafficking, labour trafficking, and forced criminality. Additionally, she shared insights into the development of a modular and reliable suite of AI-based tools designed to detect, identify, investigate, and prevent human trafficking activities, whether facilitated online or occurring at (border) checkpoints. Future collaborations have been also discussed after the end of the panel.