Lagos Police Arrest Six Liberians Over Alleged Human Trafficking, Canada Visa Scam

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested six Liberian nationals over their alleged involvement in a human trafficking and international visa fraud syndicate accused of luring victims with false promises of relocation to Canada and the United Kingdom.

The suspects, comprising five men and one woman aged between 21 and 40, were arrested at Gberigbe in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State following a police operation.

According to police sources, the syndicate allegedly specialised in deceiving unsuspecting victims into paying large sums of money for visas, work permits and residency documents for Canada and other foreign destinations that never materialised.

The suspects are also accused of abducting and unlawfully detaining victims after bringing them to Nigeria.

Following the arrests, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Fatai Tijani, directed that the case be transferred from the Imota Police Division to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Yaba, for a comprehensive investigation.

A police source told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that members of the syndicate allegedly recruited victims from Liberia by promising overseas employment and permanent residency opportunities.

According to the source, once the victims arrived in Nigeria, their passports and other travel documents were confiscated.

The victims were reportedly accommodated in a hotel for a few days before being moved to a rented apartment in Ikorodu, where they were allegedly held and pressured to recruit additional victims 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," the source said.

"Instead, they were introduced to a networking business and instructed to recruit others before they could regain their freedom."

Police said the operation was triggered after one of the victims realised she had been deceived upon arriving in Lagos instead of travelling onward to Canada as promised.

According to investigators, the victim secretly contacted a man she had met during her journey to Nigeria and shared her location with him.

The man subsequently alerted the police, leading to the victim's rescue and the arrest of the six suspects.

"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," the police source added.

The investigation is being handled by the Delta Force Anti-Robbery Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the department, Dayo Akinbisehin.

Police said efforts are ongoing to apprehend other members of the suspected trafficking network, while the six arrested suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.

NAN