The Katsina State Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, has dismantled an inter-state human trafficking syndicate and rescued three young women who had been forced into prostitution.
NAPTIP also apprehended three suspected members of the trafficking ring, believed to specialise in the recruitment, harbouring, and trafficking of young girls from various parts of the country to the northern region for sexual exploitation.
The agency’s Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, confirmed the development in a statement issued on Wednesday.
According to the agency, the suspects were arrested during a raid on a prominent hotel in Katsina township, where three victims were also rescued.
The statement noted that the hotel’s manager and two other staff members were taken into custody during the operation. The victims, aged between 21 and 26, are said to be from Benue and Rivers states.
NAPTIP further disclosed that the operation followed a recent directive from its Director General, Binta Adamu Bello, instructing operatives across the country to intensify surveillance and intelligence-gathering efforts in response to the rising cases of inter-state trafficking.
“The Director General had earlier asked that operatives pay close attention to activities around hotels, drinking joints, and motor parks in state capitals to disrupt criminal networks,” the agency spokesman said.
