The police say it has arrested two suspected internationally wanted fugitives over human trafficking and armed robbery.

The police’s national spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

One of the suspects was a ringleader of a human trafficking syndicate wanted by Belgian authorities. The second was a key member of a Dubai-based armed robbery gang, said the police authorities.

It added that the first suspect was the alleged mastermind of a large-scale human trafficking operation and had been declared wanted by the Belgian authorities through an INTERPOL Red Notice.

The police disclosed that the notice was issued on December 19, 2023, adding that the suspect was arrested in Benin, the Edo capital, following diligent intelligence and enforcement efforts by police operatives.

The suspect was accused of trafficking young Nigerian women, including minors, to Italy and subsequently dispersing them across Europe for sexual exploitation.

The victims were subjected to voodoo-based oaths and psychological coercion, with fabricated debts ranging from £20,000 to £50,000 used to manipulate and control them.

The criminal network of the suspect involved handlers in Brussels and France who managed the victims’ activities and remitted proceeds to him.

”Following a conviction in absentia in Belgium in 2021 for multiple counts of aggravated human trafficking and criminal organisation leadership, the suspect fled to Nigeria.

”Upon his arrest, a search of his premises revealed incriminating materials, including a photocopy of a passport intended for a planned relocation to Canada,” said the statement.

The suspect would be arraigned at the Federal High Court, Benin Division.

The INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Abuja arrested the second suspect at a hideout in Nsukka, Enugu.

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates are seeking the arrest of the suspect for a series of serious crimes, including armed robbery, cultism, drug trafficking, and other organised criminal activities.

While in Nigeria, the police alleged that the suspect continued to coordinate criminal operations remotely.

The suspect was alleged to be directly linked to several high-profile robberies in Dubai and Sharjah, including an armed robbery at a grocery store in Dubai Mall.

The police said the suspect would soon be arraigned in court.

(NAN)