Interpol rescues 64 human trafficking victims in Mali

In Mali, Police forces have rescued some 64 victims of human trafficking and people smuggling in an operation in coordination with Interpol, local media reported.

The victims were women and girls targeted for sexual exploitation and forced labor in the mining sector and forced begging, Interpol said in a statement.

“Police also conducted raids at known trafficking and smuggling hotspots in the country,” the statement said.

According to the list, the victims were from Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Nigeria and were working in bars, homes and mining sites, said Interpol.

“The operation highlighted a regional connection between organized crime networks: … initial reports show that they [the victims] had been exploited in different countries before their arrival in Bamako,” Interpol said.

“Mali serves as major transit country for human traffickers who target the most vulnerable members of society,” Jurgen Stock, Interpol’s secretary general, was quoted as saying.
Earlier this year, the government of Nigeria said it repatriated up to 20,000 girls who have been trafficked to Mali.

In January, the national agency fighting human trafficking said many of these girls, who have been tricked with promises of getting jobs in Europe, ended up working as sex slaves in mining camps of Mali.