Police Rescue 30 Foreign Nationals and Disrupt Cross‑Border Human‑Trafficking Syndicate

Linus Aleke in Abuja

The Nigeria Police Force announced a major success in its fight against transnational organised crime, rescuing 30 foreign nationals and dismantling a cross‑border human‑trafficking syndicate that operated in the Federal Capital Territory and surrounding areas.

The operation also resulted in the arrest of 13 suspects connected to the criminal network.

DCP Anthony Placid, the Force’s Public Relations Officer, named the arrested individuals: Abdul Ngaki, the principal suspect and syndicate leader; Fatimah Kulibali; Ahmad Kasango; Sidibe Musa; Muhammad Dembele; Saidu Traore; Ali Koulibaly; Abdul Ngeki; Ahmed Sirma; Laya Bando; Aisha Dembele; Abi Togo; and Awa Tesure.

Investigations began after intelligence reports indicated that several foreign nationals had gone missing in Nigeria under suspicious circumstances.

Early findings showed that the syndicate targeted vulnerable young people from West African countries—especially Mali and Gabon—by promising them migration to Europe and lucrative jobs in Nigeria.

Victims were asked to pay processing and transportation fees before being moved to residential sites in Mararaba and Karu, Nasarawa State, where they were kept in exploitative and restrictive conditions.

Further inquiry revealed that victims who could not meet additional financial demands were forced to participate in staged kidnapping schemes allegedly organised by the syndicate.

Under this arrangement, victims were compelled to contact relatives in their home countries while pretending to have been kidnapped, thereby pressuring families to pay ransom into accounts controlled by the criminal network.

Based on credible intelligence, operatives from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) carried out coordinated raids on 7 May 2026 at hideouts on Barrister Road, Rugan Dakachi, Nasarawa State.

The raids freed 30 victims, all identified as Malian nationals, and led to the arrest of 13 suspects directly linked to the syndicate.

The Nigeria Police Force reiterated its commitment to combating human trafficking, transnational organised crime, and all forms of exploitation, and assured the public that all individuals involved in the criminal network would be brought to justice.