37 Nigerians Arrested In Libya For Alleged Involvement In Criminal Network Behind Trafficking, Drugs
The suspects have been accused of engaging in witchcraft and sorcery, facilitating illegal immigration, and orchestrating a range of criminal activities including kidnapping, drug trafficking, and theft.
At least 37 Nigerians have been arrested for their involvement in an international criminal network that spanned from Nigeria to Libya.
The suspects have been accused of engaging in witchcraft and sorcery, facilitating illegal immigration, and orchestrating a range of criminal activities including kidnapping, drug trafficking, and theft.
The Public Prosecution announced the dismantling of these criminal gangs and disclosed that intelligence reports had flagged a meeting of irregular migrants who were coordinating illicit operations across five notorious organisations: “High Viking,” “EMSI,” “Eye,” “Black Axe,” and the “New Black Movement in Africa.”
In a statement released on Thursday evening, the Attorney General’s Office disclosed on the Facebook page the collaborative efforts of law enforcement agencies to infiltrate the networks, highlighting the serious implications of these activities for both national and regional security.
However, it was stated that the suspects carried out activities typical of criminal gangs inside Libya.
The prosecution concluded that 35 illegal immigrants were linked to these groups, which are based in Nigeria and serve as centers for managing their operations.
The statement read, “The Prosecutor’s Office dismantled a network of criminal gangs that infiltrated from Nigeria into Libya, engaging in witchcraft rites, organizing illegal migration operations, kidnappings, drug trafficking, and theft.
“They committed acts of witchcraft and sorcery inside Libya and exploited these practices in human trafficking, including forced labour.
“The groups were accused of directing female migrants under their control to perform domestic work, running brothels in the country, trafficking women on an international scale, and organizing irregular migration to northern Mediterranean countries, as well as engaging in kidnappings, drug trafficking, and theft.”
The Prosecutor’s Office added that the networks were establishing structures for their organizations in Libya.
It also stated that the intelligence service was able to arrest the suspects, including the leader of the “Viking” group in Libya.
“It was proven that the five organizations had infiltrated Libya and consolidated their presence by establishing structures involving hundreds of irregular migrants to achieve common goals between these gangs and the mafia organizations active in Mediterranean countries.
The charges also include organising illegal migration to northern Mediterranean countries, kidnappings, drug trafficking, and theft.
All the suspects arrested are currently in detention pending investigations.
