According to the police, the nightmare for the victim (identity withheld) began in May 2023, when Boniface and his accomplices, who are now at large, approached her family with a "mouth-watering" offer.
Operatives of the Enugu State Police Command have dismantled a transnational human trafficking network, rescuing a 25-year-old woman trafficked to Mali for sexual exploitation.
The command also confirmed the arrest of a 69-year-old suspect, Eze Boniface, who is allegedly a key member of the syndicate that specialises in deceiving unsuspecting families with false promises of lucrative foreign employment.
In a statement released on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, revealed that the suspect was picked up by operatives attached to the Igbo-Eze North Police Division following a petition by the victim’s parents.
According to the police, the nightmare for the victim (identity withheld) began in May 2023, when Boniface and his accomplices, who are now at large, approached her family with a "mouth-watering" offer.
"Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect and his cohorts allegedly deceived the victim and her parents with the promise of securing her employment in a textile company in a foreign country, where she would earn $100 daily," the statement read.
However, instead of a textile factory, the victim was trafficked to Mali where she was stripped of her dignity and forced into sex work. The police noted that the syndicate reportedly pocketed approximately 500,000 CFA francs from her exploitation.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, has since ordered the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) to launch a full-scale manhunt for the remaining members of the network.
"The CP has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the SCID to ensure the dismantling of the trafficking network, uncover other criminal activities of the syndicate, and arrest all those connected with the crime," Ndukwe added.
The Enugu police boss further cautioned the youth and parents to be extremely suspicious of "get-rich-quick" job offers abroad, describing them as traps set by human traffickers to enslave vulnerable citizens.