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The rescue operation was carried out with the collaboration of Eden (Myanmar), critical support from the British Government, and assistance from the Nigerian Embassy in Bangkok.The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued and repatriated 23 Nigerian youths from Thailand in what authorities described as a growing and dangerous trend of trafficking for cyber-enabled crimes across Southeast Asia.
The victims, who have now returned to Nigeria, were allegedly deceived and recruited by organised trafficking syndicates and moved to countries including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, where they were forced into online fraud operations.
The rescue operation was carried out with the collaboration of Eden (Myanmar), critical support from the British Government, and assistance from the Nigerian Embassy in Bangkok.
According to NAPTIP, the trafficked youths were lured with promises of scholarships and lucrative employment opportunities abroad, only to be deployed into criminal networks specialising in romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and investment scams.
Speaking on the development, NAPTIP Director-General, Binta Adamu Bello, warned that traffickers have adopted a new strategy targeting “vibrant and intelligent” Nigerians, particularly those with computer and IT skills.
“This is a new dimension of the human trafficking phenomenon that targets vibrant and intelligent Nigerians,” Bello said.
“The trafficker goes after boys and girls who have one skill or the other, but preferably computer and IT skills, and those who do not drink alcohol or smoke. They promised them a scholarship and gainful employment.”
She explained that upon arrival in the destination countries, victims were trained in various methods of online fraud. Some were reportedly enrolled in language schools, particularly to learn Chinese, and later assigned roles as “customer care representatives” to deceive foreign targets.
“The victims explained that they were compelled to target individuals and organisations from the United States, the United Kingdom, Ethiopia and Canada for romance scams, investment scams, cryptocurrency scams and other online fraud,” she added.
NAPTIP further alleged that the victims were housed in crowded hostels fitted with bunk beds and provided with digital devices used to execute the scams. They were allegedly monitored by armed enforcers described as “mafia guys,” who tortured those who failed to meet daily fraud targets.
In a disturbing account, Bello said some victims who resisted participation were subjected to severe abuse.
“While a few of them who refused to do the bidding of the traffickers are tortured inside a horror chamber called ‘the dark room,’ others had their organs harvested, especially the young ones with non-smoking history,” she said.The agency described the development as deeply troubling and indicative of an expanding trafficking syndicate operating within the Southeast Asian region.
“We have reactivated our various connections so that, with the support of partners, this deadly trafficking syndicate will be dislodged and the ringleaders arrested,” the Director-General stated.
She also acknowledged the role played by civil society organisations in South Asia, Eden (Myanmar), the British Government, and the Nigerian Embassy in Bangkok, which facilitated the repatriation process, including the issuance of Emergency Travel Certificates for some of the victims.
The latest rescue comes weeks after Bello vowed to intensify NAPTIP’s crackdown on human traffickers, promising stronger inter-agency collaboration and expanded strategies to detect and dismantle trafficking networks targeting Nigerians.
