- 14 South Sudan nationals suspected to have been set for trafficking were rescued in a police operation in Nairobi’s Kilimani area.
- People smuggling syndicates are run like businesses with high-profit margins.
Image: GEORGE OWITI
At least one Ethiopian national was killed and four injured when a car they were traveling in was involved in an accident in Nairobi’s South B area.
Officials said the victims were being smuggled when the accident happened on Sunday morning.
The men all aged 18 were in a company of nine others when the salon car rolled. Five people were injured in the accident.
One of the victims succumbed while being taken to hospital.
Doctors at Kenyatta National Hospital confirmed he had died by the time he arrived there.
Police said the driver of the car was speeding when he hit a bump and overturned in Balozi estate, South B.
Nairobi police boss James Mugera said police were called to the scene and took the injured to the hospital while the other nine were arrested and will be arraigned.
Police planned to present the others in court on Monday for processing before they are possibly deported.
He added they had a hard time communicating with the Ethiopians as they could hardly speak Swahili and English.
The main trafficker of the victims is still at large.
Police said the men were headed for the Middle East and were to wait in a house in the area for their documents to be processed before leaving.
According to police, they have in the past months detained dozens of foreigners from neighbouring countries as they try to leave to other countries for greener pastures.
They are usually held in rooms before being smuggled out.
Last week, 14 South Sudan nationals suspected to have been set for trafficking were rescued in a police operation in Nairobi’s Kilimani area.
The aliens who are all under the age of 18 years included seven men and are said to have been set for smuggling to the Middle East when police were alerted. They found them in a house on Marcus Garvey Road.
Officials from the Transnational Organized Crime Unit are conducting joint operations to deal with the human smuggling crisis.
People smuggling syndicates are run like businesses with high-profit margins and links to a wide range of serious and often violent crimes, including illicit money flows, corruption, terrorism, trafficking in illicit goods and human trafficking.
Interpol says they focus on profit margins, facilitating the passage of migrants with little or no regard for their safety and well-being.
Criminal groups behind human trafficking and migrant smuggling are already hit since last July when Interpol's operation Liberterra started worldwide.
In April 2021, Operation Weka mobilised 24 sources, transit and destination countries enabling authorities in Africa and Europe to rescue nearly 500 victims of human trafficking and identify some 760 irregular migrants.
Both operations boosted regional law enforcement cooperation into people smuggling.