Louis Ibah

As the 2018 FIFA World Cup was officially flagged off in Russia over the weekend, there are glaring indications that the East European nation would be attracting more global aviation traffic over the next one month. That traffic will not only be made up of players and officials from the 32 participating countries to Russia alone, but will automatically transform the Euro-Asia country into a world tourist destination, with travellers flocking to airports to jet off to the various cities designated to host the football games.

But because airports are hubs for human and cargo movements from one end of the world to another, it’s not just going to be football fans, tourists and holidaymakers who are bound to fly in air planes to Russia for the World Cup. Without doubt, a global event like the World Cup also provides an avenue for vices, like drug and human trafficking — where adults are used as drug couriers and children transported into forced labour or commercial sexual exploitation.

In Nigeria, the World Cup had barely starte, when last week, the  National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) announced it had arrested two police officers and three others believed to have been involved in attempts to traffic 10 children to Moscow on Saturday (June 9,2018) as they tried to board a Turkish Airlines flight. The traffickers are believed to have been using the Russia 2018 competition as cover to traffic the children to Europe for slavery. The children rescued include nine girls and a boy.

The bust of this human trafficking syndicate by NAPTIP goes a long way to highlight the role the aviation sector plays in aiding human trafficking and also underscores the need for more vigilance on the part of security establishments at the airports as well as the airline staff and passengers.
IATA warns

Because of the increase in incidences of human trafficking through airports the International Air Transport Association (IATA) last week Thursday approved a resolution denouncing trafficking in persons, and committing to a number of actions related to anti-trafficking initiatives. IATA said annually an estimated 24.9 million people are illegally trafficked owing to lapses in the aviation sector.

“The extensive reach of the global air transport network means that unfortunately, airlines are used by traffickers to facilitate their activities,” said IATA’s Director General/CEO, Mr. Alexandre de Juniac.

“Aviation is the business of freedom, flying four billion people to every corner of the earth last year alone. Some, however, try to use our networks nefariously. Trafficking in people creates misery for millions.  As a responsible industry, our members are determined to help authorities stamp out human trafficking,” added Alexandre de Juniac.

Efforts by Nigerian airlines

In Nigeria, local airlines and their crew appear to have taken a hard stand in the fight against illegal movements of persons on aircraft.  Spokesperson of Air Peace Airlines, Mr. Chris Iwarah, told Daily Sun that the decision to go tough on traffickers was borne out of the fact that traffickers not only bring harm to their victims, but also hurt the corporate image of the carrier they use to perpetrate their crime.

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Iwarah said last week Monday, attempt by two women to traffic a three-month-old baby boy on board an Air Peace Lagos – Banjul flight was foiled by the carrier’s vigilant cabin crew.
He said the suspected traffickers were exposed during mid-flight when the vigilant airline’s crew members noticed the baby boy crying inconsolably while all  attempts by the acclaimed baby’s mother to soothe him failed.

Greater suspicion however arose when the crew members suggested to the woman carrying the baby (who was later confirmed to be a  trafficker) to breastfeed the baby so that an ambience of quiet can reign in the aircraft for other passengers and she declined to breastfeed the child.
Suspicious that the baby was either stolen or being trafficked, the crew took the baby from the mother temporary and when they attempted to return the baby to the woman, the baby expressed fright and unwillingness to go back. The airline crew thereafter summoned the alleged traffickers to the back of the aircraft for questioning. The alleged traffickers  told the crew members that the baby was a child from a surrogacy arrangement.

Dissatisfied with the alleged mother’s response, the Air Peace staff accosted the two alleged traffickers when the flight touched down Banjul and quickly called for the intervention of Banjul International Airport (BIA) Police Station in The Gambia and the suspected traffickers were promptly arrested.

A  medical tests conducted by security operatives in Banjul showed no relationship between the baby and the woman as well as a man who later appeared at the airport claiming to be the father of the three-month-baby boy.

“Investigation into the matter is ongoing and we trust that security operatives would be able to identify the true parents of the boy who appears to be three months old,” said Iwarah.  “The baby had since been transferred to SOS Child Care Center in Bakothe in The Gambia for proper care pending conclusion of investigation,” Iwaru added.
How to spot child traffickers

Airline crew and passengers can also help rescue trafficked persons at airports by being aware of these telltale signs.

A poorly dressed traveller

Crew or passengers can always suspect poorly dressed passengers and report them to security for further questioning. You might notice right away that a traveller has few or no personal items. At airports, trafficked victims may be less well dressed than their companions or traffickers  They may be wearing filthy clothes that are the wrong size, or are not appropriate for the weather on their route of travel.

A child being trafficked may appear to be malnourished and/or shows signs of physical or sexual abuse, such as bruises, scars, or cigarette burns. Passengers who can’t provide details of their departure location, destination, or flight information are likely trafficked suspects. Traffickers employ a number of tools to avoid raising suspicion about their crime and to keep victims enslaved. Some traffickers won’t tell their victims where they are located, being taken, or even what job they will have.