The Lagos State Police Command has apprehended six Liberian nationals over alleged human trafficking, abduction and an international visa scam that targeted their fellow citizens with false promises of relocation to Canada and the United Kingdom.
It was gathered that the suspects, comprising one woman and five men aged between 21 and 40, were apprehended at Gberigbe in the Ikorodu area of Lagos upon credible intelligence report to the Police.
According to a police source, the syndicate allegedly lured victims from Liberia to Nigeria with promises of securing visas, work permits and residency documents for Canada and the UK for them enroute Lagos, Nigeria. In the process of orchestrating their criminal scheme, the fraudsters collect huge sums of money for travel arrangements from their unwary victims that never materialised.
The source further stated that the victims’ passports and other travel documents were seized upon arrival in Nigeria.
The victims were initially accommodated in a hotel for two or three days before being moved to a rented apartment in Ikorodu, where they were held and pressured to recruit more people from Liberia into the scheme.
“The victims were promised opportunities to relocate abroad. After paying the required fees and arriving in Nigeria, they discovered there was no travel arrangement.
“Instead, they were introduced to a networking business and instructed to recruit others before they could regain their freedom,” the source said.
The source averred further that one of the victims, who realised she had been deceived after arriving in Lagos rather than processing her travel documents for Canada as promised, reported the case through a man she met on her way to Nigeria.
“The victim passport was seized and she was compelled to participate in the recruitment scheme.
“The victim eventually contacted a man she had met during her flight to Nigeria and shared her location with him.
“The man alerted the police, leading to the rescue of the victim and the arrest of the suspects, ” he said.
Following the report, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr Fatai Tijani, directed that the case be properly be investigated in accordance to international best practice by the Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Yaba, Lagos.
The investigation is being handled by detectives under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the department, Mr Dayo Akinbisehin.
The source added that efforts were ongoing to arrest other members of the syndicate, while the six suspects would be handed over to the Nigeria Immigrations Service for further action upon the conclusion of police investigations.
