Six Liberian Suspects Apprehended in Lagos for Alleged Trafficking, Abduction, and Visa Fraud

The Lagos State Police Command has taken into custody six individuals of Liberian nationality, comprising five men and one woman, aged between 21 and 40 years. They face serious allegations including human trafficking, abduction, and orchestrating an elaborate international visa fraud scheme. The arrests took place in the Gberigbe area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.

Investigations reveal that this syndicate specialized in swindling unsuspecting victims out of millions of naira by falsely promising to facilitate their visas for Canada and other nations. The modus operandi involved luring individuals from Liberia to Nigeria with enticing offers of securing visas, work permits, and residency documents specifically for Canada and the United Kingdom. Significant sums of money were collected from these victims for travel arrangements that never materialized, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Upon their arrival in Nigeria, the victims' passports and other essential travel documents were confiscated. Initially, they were housed in a hotel for a few days. However, after approximately three days, they were relocated to a rented apartment in Ikorodu, where they were reportedly detained. During their detention, victims were pressured to recruit more individuals into the fraudulent scheme as a condition for their release.

The fraudulent operation came to light when one of the female victims, realizing she had been duped, confided in a friend she had met during her journey to Nigeria. This friend, a male, promptly alerted the police, which led to the successful rescue of the victim and the subsequent apprehension of the six suspects.

Following the report, Mr. Fatai Tijani, the Commissioner of Police for Lagos State, ordered the immediate transfer of the case from the Imota Police Division to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Yaba for a thorough and comprehensive investigation. A police source informed NAN that the SCID's Delta Force Anti-Robbery Unit is handling the investigation, under the direct supervision of Mr. Dayo Akinbisehin, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the department. The source further indicated that efforts are ongoing to track down and arrest other members of the syndicate, while the six currently detained suspects will be arraigned in court once the investigations are concluded.