Project

For Hunting The Traffickers, BBC Africa Eye is given exclusive access to Interpol and the Sierra Leone Police as they target the criminal gangs behind a human trafficking scam, commonly known as QNet.

Thousands of young people across West Africa are being lured in by the promise of work opportunities abroad, in places like the US, Canada, Dubai and Europe. Victims often spend large sums of money, only to be held captive and coerced into recruiting friends and family from back home.

Traffickers have been using the name of a legitimate company – QNet – as a front for their activities.

Saidu Bah follows the police teams trying to clamp down on these criminal gangs, and one father’s desperate search for his missing children.

This film was produced by BBC Eye and directed by Chris Walter and Paul Myles.

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.