The Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, has arrested 12 foreign suspects alleged to have established a trafficking syndicate in Lagos State, following an enforcement carried out to curb criminal activities.
In a statement made available by NIS, Public Relations Officer, Akinsola Akinlabi, the agency said that the arrestees include an alleged leader of the gang, one Outtara Adama, and other eleven of his facilitators, eight which were Liberians and three Cameroonians, were nabbed following an intelligence stating that the individuals operate in a link-up to the QNET/IGNITE network, after which it rescued two of their victims, who were said to be Cameroon.
The body, on Tuesday, held that the 12 arrestees alongside the two people rescued have been taken to the Headquarters for further investigation and necessary legal action.
The NIS informed that the QNET/IGNITE network is a transnational organised criminal syndicate involved in fraudulent employment and business schemes linked to irregular migration.
It urged the public to always verify all offers of employment, education, business and migrations through appropriate channels before making financial commitments or embarking on international travel.
The QNET network has repeatedly come under scrutiny in several countries over allegations that criminal syndicates exploit its name to lure unsuspecting job seekers and prospective migrants with false promises of lucrative employment and business opportunities.
Nigerian security agencies have, in recent years, intensified efforts to dismantle trafficking and irregular migration networks using similar recruitment schemes as part of broader measures to combat transnational organised crime.