Lagos Police Bust Alleged International Visa Scam, Arrest Six Liberian Nationals for Human Trafficking
By The People’s Voice Nigeria News
The Lagos State Police Command has apprehended six Liberian nationals over alleged human trafficking, abduction, and an international visa scam that targeted their fellow citizens with false promises of relocation to Canada and the United Kingdom.
The suspects, comprising one woman and five men aged between 21 and 40, were arrested at Gberigbe in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.
According to a police source, the syndicate allegedly lured victims from Liberia to Nigeria with promises of securing visas, work permits, and residency documents for Canada and the UK, collecting huge sums of money for travel arrangements that never materialised.
The source said the victims’ passports and other travel documents were confiscated upon their arrival in Nigeria.
The victims were initially accommodated in a hotel for two or three days before being moved to a rented apartment in Ikorodu, where they were allegedly held against their will and pressured to recruit more people 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. Instead, they were introduced to a networking business and instructed to recruit others before they could regain their freedom,” the police source said.
The source further disclosed that one of the victims realised she had been deceived after arriving in Lagos instead of beginning the promised travel documentation process for Canada.
Her passport was allegedly seized, and she was compelled to participate in the recruitment scheme.
The victim later contacted a man she had met during her flight to Nigeria and shared her location with him. The man subsequently alerted the police, leading to her rescue and the arrest of the suspects.
Following the report, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP 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.
The investigation is being handled by the Delta Force (Anti-Robbery Unit) of the SCID under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the department, DCP Dayo Akinbisehin.
The police source added that efforts were ongoing to apprehend other members of the alleged syndicate, while the six suspects would be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
