Project

For our latest film for BBC Africa Eye – Hunting The Traffickers – we gained exclusive access to Interpol and the Sierra Leone Police as they target criminal gangs trafficking young people across West Africa. 

Thousands of people across West Africa are being lured by a human trafficking scam, commonly known as QNET. Founded in Hong Kong, QNET itself is a legitimate wellness and lifestyle company – it allows people to sign up to buy their products and sell them online. In West Africa, criminal gangs are using its name as a front for their illegal activities.

Traffickers target young people with the promise of work opportunities in places like the US, Canada, Dubai and Europe, asking them first to pay large sums of money for administration costs ahead of starting the job. Once lured in, they are often told they can’t travel abroad until they recruit others; the promised jobs do not materialise.

The documentary follows Foday Musa, a father from Guinea whose 18-year-old daughter & and 22-year-old son were victims of a trafficking gang – they were recruited with three other young people from their remote village. Reporter Saidu Bah follows Foday as he travels to Sierra Leone to work with police in the hope of reuniting with his children.

Watch the full film on Youtube (below) or on iPlayer (UK only)

Impact

In addition to its online release, the film was broadcast worldwide on the BBC World News channel and distributed to over 30 African broadcasters.

The story was featured in an article for the BBC News homepage and globally across BBC Radio, TV news and podcast channels, including; Focus on Africa, Newsday and the Global News Podcast. It was also translated into Swahili and French.