Arrests as Sudanese police foil child smugglers

Police have arrested a gang in the eastern state of Kassala, and two people in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, after five minors were rescued from the clutches of a child-smuggling network.

A tip-off from the transport bus company led police to the five 15-year-olds, according to Col. Imad Ahmed El Tayeb, chief of Sudan’s Family and Child Protection Unit.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Col. El Tayeb said that the transport bus company became suspicious when they noticed the five minors were attempting to travel to Libya, without the knowledge of their parents.

He said that a gang, who specialise in smuggling children out of the country, was arrested. Police questioning revealed that the gang had contact with a ‘broker’ in Khartoum. The alleged broker was then arrested, as well as a man who was allegedly driving a taxi with false plates.

Col. El Tayeb confirmed that the investigation has evidence that that the accused has earlier smuggled a number of children under the age of eighteen, in cooperation with partners from abroad.

He called on families to care for their children, follow-up, and monitor their behaviour, as well as to avoid domestic violence.

Human trafficking

According to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in Eastern Sudan, thousands of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants from neighbouring countries are at risk of being trafficked every year. These people risk everything in the hope of a better life, but this exodus from a life of suffering is often more perilous than they anticipated.

Those most vulnerable are newly-arrived asylum seekers, mainly of Eritrean origin, who cross the border into Eastern Sudan. In 2012 the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported an average of 30 kidnappings per month. However, this number is likely to be much higher as many people are kidnapped before they have the chance to register as asylum seekers. Many trafficking victims may also initially give their consent to being smuggled, only to be coerced later on.