As the agency rescues and repatriates twenty-three Nigerian youths from Thailand, the Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, has raised the alarm over a new trend of human trafficking to the South Asia region for cyber-enabled crimes.
According to the agency, the operation was carried out in collaboration with Eden in Myanmar, the British Government, and the Nigerian Embassy in Bangkok, which facilitated emergency travel documents for the victims.
NAPTIP reveals that the victims were lured with promises of scholarships and lucrative jobs, then trafficked to countries including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.
On arrival, they were allegedly forced into online crimes such as romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and investment scams, targeting victims in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Ethiopia.
The DG says traffickers are now targeting intelligent young Nigerians with computer and IT skills, especially those with clean health records.
Victims were reportedly housed in guarded hostels, monitored by armed enforcers, and subjected to torture for failing to meet daily fraud targets, with chilling claims of organ harvesting and deadly abuse.
NAPTIP says it has stepped up collaboration with local and international partners to dismantle the syndicate and bring those responsible to justice.