Police in western Kenya’s frontier town of Busia have in the past two months rescued some 30 youths the security agencies say were being ferried to Europe by a transnational organised human trafficking syndicate.

The nationalities of the suspected traffickers were not immediately established but police said they work in cahoots with Kenyan agents. The rescued youth were Somali.

Speaking at the Busia County Police headquarters, Western Regional Police Commander Issa Mahmud said the youths were duped into believing that they were on their way to greener pastures in Europe and America.

The regional commander said the youths come from Mandera and it is suspected they are either Somali refugees who live in camps in Kenya or Somali nationals who cross into Kenya, the travel roughly 1,500 kilometres to the frontier town by road. Some are ferried by public service vehicles, Mahmud says.

Mandera own in north-eastern Kenya borders Somalia.

“In the past two months, we have rescued some 30 young people who were being trafficked to Europe. They are aged between 14 and 25 years. From our investigations through interrogation of the young men, most of them were told they would reach Europe and America by road,” he said.

Mahmud revealed that the unsuspecting youths are recruited at zero cost – a trick they easily fall for.

“The young people are then ferried to Uganda through the porous border, South Sudan, Sudan and then Libya. It is after they arrive in Libya that the traffickers – some Kenyan, while majority are foreigners – inform the parents that they are taking their children to work in Europe and America. It is at this point that they demand a ransom of up to Ksh2-3 million ($15,500-$23,184) to enable the children to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.  

He further disclosed that some of the youth are recruited from school without knowledge of their parents.

“My appeal to parents is that they should take charge of their children. The local community in Busia should also help us track down the traffickers because the recruits are held here for three or four days before they cross to Uganda,” the police boss said.

“All officers in this county should now be extra vigilant and should not support the vice and instead should help stop it,” he said, warning that anybody who is implicated in the illegal business will face the consequences according to the law.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Rodgers Omondi