The Ondo State Police Command has apprehended three suspected members of a transnational human trafficking syndicate and rescued a Ghanaian national believed to be one of their victims.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, said the arrest was carried out by operatives of the Tactical Intelligence Response Squad of the command.
According to Ayanlade, the suspects, Hayford Nyamekye, Awine Alex, and Kojo Felix, allegedly lure their victims from Ghana into Nigeria under the pretext of securing employment, only to defraud them upon arrival.
Ayanlade said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were part of a wider criminal network that specialises in deceiving unsuspecting individuals, particularly from neighbouring West African countries, with false promises of employment and visa assistance to Canada and other Western nations.
“Alarmingly, an additional 39 Ghanaian nationals were discovered to have fallen victim to this same network.
Many of them were found without valid travel documents, while those who had presented expired ones,” Ayanlade added.
He disclosed that the suspects were in custody and cooperating with the police in their investigation.
The PPRO also said efforts were ongoing to identify and apprehend the owners and caretakers of the buildings where the victims were housed, noting that they might have either had knowledge of or directly aided the illegal activities of the syndicate.
The police called on the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the nearest police station or through the Command’s emergency contact lines.
