HUMAN TRAFFICKING
THE dramatic arrest of 12 illegal immigrants suspected to be Ethiopians in Kasama last Thursday underscores the need to scale up security along the country’s borders.
That the illegal immigrants could even such a long distance from their entry point in Nakonde before being cornered in Kasama should be a matter of concern.
It is good that the police managed to apprehend the 12, whose ages range between 14 – 20 in the bush where they were hiding.
Surely, the nation has not forgotten the macabre discovery of decomposed bodies of illegal immigrants in Lusaka just two years ago.
The bodies were so decomposed that they could not even be identified for the authorities to inform their families of what had become of their relations.
It is important that the police investigate this latest case of what is definitely human trafficking and get behind the cartel involved.
The manner in which the illegal immigrants were transported from Nakonde clearly shows someone was organising the whole operation – and fits into the modus operandi of the human traffickers.
The human cargo is usually moved from their point of entry into the interior and dropped on the outskirts of any district to escape detection.
As Northern Province Police Commissioner Gloria Mulele explained, “in the early hours of Sunday between 01:00 and 04:00 hours, police officers manning Nkolemfumu checkpoint intercepted two vehicles, a Toyota Hilux white in colour registration number BAZ 8569 and another Toyota Hilux red in colour registration number BAT 8100 which they suspected to have committed a felony.
Ms Mulele said whilst officers were interviewing the occupants, the driver of the white Toyota Hilux sped off and as the red Toyota Hilux tried to speed off, officers fired warning shots forcing the driver to stop and was arrested together with another suspect who was in the vicinity.
“We want to get more details and establish the truth in this case so that we see how we can proceed,’’ Ms Mulele said.
The ages of the illegal immigrants are a pointer that they were being trafficked as a unit probably to South Africa which is said to be the preferred destination of most Ethiopians.
The police have in this instance a strong lead that will help in their investigations. “Upon being interviewed the immigrants stated that they were picked from Nakonde by two motor vehicles which dropped them in the bush where they spent three days,” Ms Mulele said.
Moreover, said Ms Mulele, the driver of the red Toyota Hilux and the motor vehicle had been positively identified by the immigrants.
The police should therefore investigate this incident thoroughly and ensure that the culprits are brought to book. There actions go against the accepted international protocols dealing with immigration as mandated by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
The IOM is the leading inter-governmental organisation promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all.
It works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues.
But these are not the ideals under which the human traffickers operate. Theirs is to take advantage of the vulnerable and for a huge fee, promise to take them to a purported land of honey.
Thus, the two suspects in police custody should not be spared and must face the full wrath of the law to show that human trafficking or any crime does not pay.