By Mohamed T. Massaquoi
In Bo The police in Bo in southern Sierra Leone say they are investigating a suspected human trafficking case involving dozens of Guinean nationals.
Some 33 people, mostly Guineans, were detained after raids in several locations along Okeke Street in New England area of Bo, according to reports. Chief Superintendent Sia Bernadette Sandy, Local Unit Commander in the Bo East Division, is leading the investigation, according to a report by Radio New Song in Bo City. She is quoted in an interview saying that she personally led the raids on three different locations, from where the suspects were picked up.
CSP Sandy revealed in the interview that they received a tip-off through their local Police-Community Relations Committee. “I thought it was people who sell drugs. But during the raids, I got the feeling that it is human trafficking,” she said in the interview conducted in Krio, explaining further that all those found in the properties they raided spoke only French.
“I suspect human trafficking because the people who were brought in appear to have something to say,” she added. The arrests were made on Monday, August 5. And on Tuesday, August 6, police spokesman for the southern region, Alhaji Osman Mansaray, told ManoReporters that they were still trying to ascertain the exact nature of the case. He said evidence available so far doesn’t appear to meet the elements for human trafficking.
“I can confirm that they are foreigners because majority of them don’t speak clear Krio. And we understand that only two among those detained are Sierra Leoneans,” he said, stressing that further investigation will ascertain the true nature of what exactly happened.
