The Nigeria Police Force has rescued 46 victims of human trafficking and arrested seven suspects in two separate operations targeting a transnational syndicate.
The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in a statement which revealed the operations were coordinated by INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja.
“In a coordinated operation based on a message received from INTERPOL NCB Accra, operatives of INTERPOL NCB successfully rescued 31 victims who had been trafficked from Ghana to Nigeria under the false pretense of securing employment opportunities in Europe,” the statement read.
According to Adejobi, investigations revealed that in August 2024, a Ghanaian national, Samuel Dankwah Opoku, was deceived by one George Tenkron who promised him a job in Spain. He was instead directed to travel to Nigeria, where he was trapped in QNET’s fraudulent network.
“It was further uncovered that the victim had paid thirty thousand Ghanaian Cedis (GHC 30,000) to one Attah Amankwaah, a Ghanaian residing in Nigeria and a known member of the QNET network,” Adejobi said.
Six suspects, including Amankwaah, were arrested during a police raid on their operational base, where incriminating materials were recovered.
The rescued victims have since been handed over to the Ghana High Commission in Abuja for repatriation.
“Detailed statements obtained from both victims and suspects led to the exposure of a wider transnational human trafficking and internet fraud network,” the statement added.
In a related development, on June 17, INTERPOL NCB received a distress alert concerning four Ghanaian nationals allegedly trafficked into Nigeria by a 39-year-old woman, Achiaa Grace Afrifa.
Police investigations revealed that Afrifa had fraudulently obtained GHC 126,000 from her victims under the guise of offering them employment opportunities.
“Acting swiftly on intelligence, operatives tracked and arrested the suspect on the 18th of June 2025 at No.1 Ikot Ebido Street, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State,” Adejobi said.
Fifteen victims were rescued from her custody during the operation.
The statement confirmed that all seven suspects arrested during the operations are currently in custody and will be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of ongoing investigations.
