Europol op: 89 arrests, Nigerian juju trafficking ring

Cited record

Sources

Europol (2018) 'Trafficked by voodoo threats: one of the largest operations in Europe rescues 39 Nigerian women', Europol. Available at: europol.europa.eu (Accessed: 29 June 2024). [archived copy]

'The Spanish Guardia Civil in collaboration with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) from Nigeria and the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), dismantled a Nigerian organised crime group in one of the largest operations against Trafficking in Human Beings in Europe... Victims were transferred from Nigeria to Europe via Libya and Italy. Once in Spain, the women were kept in squalid conditions in cave houses in Almeria, where they were exploited in prostitution to pay off the EUR 30,000 debt they owed to the criminal organisation... The highly active Nigerian criminal network was linked to the EIYE brotherhood, which is known for being one of the most influential confraternities in Nigeria. They operate in clandestine groups all over the world, funding the brotherhood in Nigeria through both licit and illicit activities, in some cases through organised crime and, in particular, trafficking human beings. One of the most important members of the organisation was a well-known DJ in Nigeria, who was arrested when he was returning from his country where he was recording a music video. His main role was to transfer the victims to Spain and organise sexual exploitation in several Spanish provinces... The crime ring transferred and laundered the money using the Hawala system. Police officers carried out 41 house searches in Alicante, Almeria, Barcelona, Cantabria, Madrid, Malaga, Murcia, Navarra, Seville, Toledo and Vizcaya in Spain and Manchester, UK. The bank accounts used by the organisation to launder more than EUR 300,000 from the illicit activity have been blocked. In total the operation resulted in 89 arrests and 39 victims were safeguarded...'

Gigova, R. (2018) 'They faced voodoo death threats and forced prostitution. Now, they're safe, police say', CNN. Available at: cnn.com (Accessed: 29 June 2024). [archived copy]

'Sixteen Nigerian women are safe after they were threatened with death and tricked to work as prostitutes in return for passage to Spain, the European Union's law enforcement agency said Thursday. Eleven people were arrested in Zaragoza, Spain, in connection with the trafficking plot, Europol said, adding that their criminal network operated mainly in Spain, Italy, Germany and Denmark... The women reflect a recent wave of Nigerians who have headed to Europe from Benin City, where poverty and traditional witchcraft suffocate opportunity. The journey can be fraught for women and girls, who face a particular risk of exploitation... Promised a better life in Spain, the 16 women were moved by land from Nigeria to Libya, then to Italy by sea, and from there into Spain, Europol said. Once on the Spanish territory they were handed over to a madam and forced into prostitution until they paid off their debt, the agency said... Voodoo threats leveled by traffickers: The women also were pressured under voodoo threats to pledge to pay for their transport and not to report their exploiters to police, Europol said. 'This method, used by criminal organizations with women from Western Africa, aims to control women under threat of death for them or their family members if they do not comply with that commitment,' the agency said. In some cases, traffickers can control their victims using phone contact alone, Europol said... The number of potential sex-trafficking victims arriving in Italy by sea has increased 600% since 2014, with the majority of victims arriving from Nigeria, a July report by the International Organization for Migration estimates. Eighty percent of all women and girls arriving from Nigeria to Europe are potential victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, the group estimates, noting that exploitation of younger girls has been on the rise.'