The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has busted a cyber-trafficking ring and rescued 23 Nigerians who were trafficked to Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia for cyber-enabled crimes.
The victims were repatriated to Nigeria following a coordinated operation involving NAPTIP, international partners and the Nigerian Embassy in Bangkok, with support from the British Government and a civil society organisation in the region.
Speaking on the operation, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Mrs Binta Adamu Bello, said the agency uncovered a new trafficking pattern in which young Nigerians with computer and information technology skills are lured abroad with promises of scholarships and well-paying jobs.
She said the victims were deceived, recruited and moved to countries including Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, where they were forced to engage in online fraud activities such as romance scams, cryptocurrency-related fraud and investment scams.
Bello added that the latest operation was part of NAPTIP’s renewed crackdown on organised trafficking networks, stressing that the agency would continue to work with local and international partners to dismantle such syndicates.
She urged parents, guardians and young people to be cautious of suspicious job offers abroad, noting that investigations were ongoing to track down and prosecute those behind the crime.
NAPTIP also commended the Nigerian Embassy in Thailand and other partners for facilitating the rescue and repatriation of the victims.
