Kenyan police said they rescued 22 people from an apartment on Nairobi’s outskirts after uncovering a suspected human-trafficking network that lured recruits with bogus job offers in Russia but intended to send them to fight in Ukraine.
Detectives said an intelligence-led raid in the Athi River area recovered recruitment materials, travel documents and job offer letters. One suspected coordinator was arrested and a court approved his 10-day detention while investigations continue.
According to police, victims signed contracts with an unnamed overseas employment agency and were told to pay up to $18,000 for visas, travel and accommodation; some had already paid $1,500 deposits. Authorities said many recruits who make the trip return home injured or traumatized, and some never come back.
The operation was part of a multi-agency crackdown amid rising reports of Kenyans being trafficked abroad on false promises. A senior foreign ministry official said the government is tracking cases of nationals allegedly taken to Russia and now held as prisoners of war in Ukraine.
Police added that two Kenyans recently returned, one of whom is hospitalized.
Source:Radar Africa
