The Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Binta Bello, has revealed that human traffickers have now upped their game targeting youth with tech skills for cyber enabled crimes.
The DG made the revelation following the rescue of 23 suspected victims of human trafficking in Thailand just weeks after she vowed to intensify the fight against human traffickers, upscaling the agency’s strategic and deepening collaboration to combat trafficking targeting vulnerable Nigerians.
She explained that 23 suspected victims were rescued and repatriated back to Nigeria in a significant operation, a collaboration between Nigeria, Myanmar and the UK government against organized criminal cartel believed to be targeting young Nigerians who are brilliant and have computer skills.
In a statement by NAPTIP’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Vincent Adekoye, Bello said the victims were deceived, recruited, and trafficked to some Southeast Asian Countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, for cyber enabled crimes such as romance scam, cryptocurrency-related fraud, and investment scam in the destination countries.
“This is a new dimension of the human trafficking phenomenon that targets vibrant and intelligent Nigerians.
“Traffickers seek out boys and girls with skills preferably in computer and IT and those who do not drink alcohol or smoke, promising them scholarships and gainful employment,” Bello stated
She further explained that the exploitation faced by the victims upon arrival in the destination countries is such a that “The victims are trained in various scamming methods, with some enrolled in language schools, particularly Chinese.
“They quickly graduate as translators and are employed as customer care representatives to deceive their targets”.
The DG detailed the harrowing experiences of the victims, who were forced into online fraud pointing that they were forced to “They target individuals and organizations in the USA, UK, Ethiopia, and Canada for various scams.
“They lived in hostels under strict surveillance by traffickers, who monitored their performance and punished those who failed to meet daily targets.”
The agency said the disturbing practices associated with this new trafficking trend us such that some victims faced severe consequences for non-compliance.
Bello said “Those who resisted the traffickers were tortured or even killed in what is referred to as ‘the dark room,’ while others suffered organ harvesting, particularly the younger ones with clean recreational histories.
“This troubling development in trafficking in Southeast Asia calls for urgent action”.
“We have reactivated our connections to dismantle this deadly trafficking syndicate with the support of our partners,” the DG adds.
Bello also expressed gratitude for the collaborative efforts, stating that “NAPTIP appreciates the support from civil society organizations in the South Asia region such as Eden in (Myanmar), the British Government, and the Nigerian embassy in Bangkok, which played a crucial role in facilitating the victims’ repatriation and securing Emergency Travel Certificates for some of them.”
