Over 450 Ghanaians have reportedly been found trapped in human trafficking camps in Côte d’Ivoire, following a joint security operation that has exposed a vast cross-border exploitation network targeting vulnerable individuals.
A report by GHOne TV on May 4, 2026, indicates that victims are lured with promises of jobs and travel opportunities abroad, particularly to countries like France and Canada. Instead, they are trafficked across several West African countries and confined in remote camps where their movement is restricted and personal documents seized.
The operation was led by the Ghana Police Service Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, headed by Superintendent William Ayariga, in collaboration with a private tracking expert.
“Through tracking, we realised a large number of the victims we were searching for had been trafficked to Côte d’Ivoire,” an investigator was quoted to have said.
Victims were reportedly transported through countries including Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal and Liberia under the guise of “transit points” for documentation.
One of the major locations identified is Bondoukou, where thousands of victims are believed to be held. Other suspected hubs include Aniabrekrom, Ambegro, Songor and Noé.
Authorities say the camps function as centres of coercion, where victims are subjected to psychological pressure and forced into criminal activities such as cybercrime, prostitution and recruiting others into the scheme.
Conditions in the camps are described as harsh and inhumane. Victims reportedly sleep on mats, survive on minimal food and rely on unsafe water sources. Access to proper healthcare is limited, with unqualified individuals providing treatment. In some cases, seriously ill victims are allegedly abandoned.
According to the report, during a joint operation with Ivorian security forces, between 400 and 450 victims were discovered in a single camp in Bondoukou. Those rescued included pregnant women, nursing mothers and children as young as two months old, with ages ranging from 16 to 60.
However, some of the specific missing persons who prompted the investigation were not found during the operation.
Two suspected traffickers, identified as Deborah and Suzzy, have been arrested and handed over to local authorities. Deborah is believed to be a key figure operating multiple camps across Côte d’Ivoire, while Suzzy, reportedly from Sefwi Wiaso, is said to have used multiple identities to recruit victims.
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Investigators say the network targets people across all social classes, including professionals such as teachers, nurses, bank executives and even security personnel.
Families of victims often invest heavily in the promise of relocation, sometimes selling assets and paying as much as GH¢130,000 to secure what they believe are opportunities abroad.
