Ethiopia Cracks Down on Major Human Trafficking Network Amid East African Crisis

by: Horn Observer Contributor | 07 September 2024 13:58

Visits: 2065
(Rating 0.0/5 Stars) Total Votes: 0
0 0
Share via Social Media

Ethiopia Cracks Down on Major Human Trafficking Network Amid East African Crisis

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (HORN OBSERVER) – The Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) announced on Friday the dismantling of one of the country's largest human trafficking networks amidst an escalating crisis affecting Et

Share

The operation led to the arrest of 49 travel agency owners, along with the seizure of a cache of documents, including Ethiopian passports, birth certificates, and airline tickets.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (HORN OBSERVER) – The Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) announced on Friday the dismantling of one of the country's largest human trafficking networks amidst an escalating crisis affecting Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya.

The operation led to the arrest of 49 travel agency owners, along with the seizure of a cache of documents, including Ethiopian passports, birth certificates, and airline tickets, all connected to an ongoing investigation into human trafficking operations.

The network is believed to have trafficked approximately 15,000 Ethiopians out of the country through illegal channels, putting the victims’ lives at significant risk and threatening national security.

These incidents took place between June 2023 and August 2024.

NISS, working in coordination with the Ethiopian Federal Police, carried out the arrests following an "extensive study and monitoring” of suspected trafficking networks both within Ethiopia and abroad, the agency said.

"The investigation identified that brokers operating domestically and in foreign countries are involved in this criminal network,” the NISS stated.

The agency further alleged that "tourist and work visas obtained through connections are used for this act, and various bodies, including individuals working in embassies, participate in it.”

Authorities emphasized that several travel agencies were disguising illegal human trafficking operations as legitimate businesses, with some government officials involved.

The network also used falsified documents, including identity cards, passports, and visas. "Some individuals working in government structures become accomplices to the illegal human trafficking crime by creating benefit connections,” the NISS confirmed.

The agency warned that these trafficking operations expose Ethiopians to serious dangers, including "human rights violations, psychological damage, rape, organ theft, and death.” NISS added that "after citizens travel by sea, land, and air to foreign countries, they are gathered in one location and sold through negotiations with employers.”

Traffickers in Somalia, Somaliland and Kenya

This revelation aligns with ongoing reports of other trafficking networks operating in Somalia and Somaliland, where vulnerable individuals are being smuggled out of the region with falsified documents.

These networks, stretching from Mogadishu to Hargeisa, involve travel agencies and officials from the Somali immigration department, police, and airport staff.

Traffickers reportedly collaborate with officials from the Somalia Ministry of Foreign Affairs to profit from the illegal activity.

Most victims, including women, children, and young men, are fleeing humanitarian crises and conflict in Somalia. After they are trafficked, they are sold into prostitution or forced labor. Traffickers often lure victims with false promises of jobs and a better life in Europe.

Between June and July 2024, Mogadishu police, with the support of concerned families, managed to stop three underage girls from being trafficked from Mogadishu via Hargeisa using falsified documents.

The smugglers had intended to transport the girls to Sudan and Libya, where they would later demand ransom from the victims’ families.

In a separate incident last month, traffickers smuggled individuals using Somali police officers who were attending an Interpol meeting in Lyon, France. Upon arrival in France, the trafficked individuals slipped into other European countries.

Additionally, in July, the Turkish embassy in Mogadishu suspended issuing visas to Somali service passport holders after discovering human traffickers had been abusing the documents to smuggle people into Turkey.

Many of those using Somali service and diplomatic passports were later found not to be government employees, and some went on to commit serious crimes in Turkey.

One notable case involved the Somali president’s son, Mohammed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was convicted in January 2024 by a Turkish court in Istanbul for killing a young Turkish citizen while driving a Somali diplomatic vehicle. Investigations revealed Mohammed was neither a diplomat nor a government employee, but he had obtained a residence visa by "falsely claiming diplomatic status”.

In Kenya, a recent investigation by KTN News and The Standard Newspaper revealed that the human trafficking network has also infiltrated Kenyan government agencies.

The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Sports were implicated in a visa fraud scheme, leading to the arrest of 12 individuals in June last year. A whistleblower who tipped off authorities was forced to flee the country due to threats to his life.

Journalist Francis Odee, who led the investigation, reported that 15 ordinary Kenyans paid between $15,000 and $20,000 to government officials in these ministries, in exchange for promises of securing U.S. visas and Green Cards.