The Nigeria Police Force has rescued two Colombian women who were allegedly lured to Nigeria and held captive by a suspected human trafficking syndicate in Lagos.
The victims, identified as Maria Camila Rodas Ortiz and Yuliet Fernanda Rios Mesa, were rescued by operatives of the National Central Bureau of INTERPOL, Lagos Annex, following intelligence received from INTERPOL-NCB Bogotá on August 26, 2026.
According to the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the women were allegedly deceived into travelling to Nigeria and subsequently held against their will. Their travel documents were also reportedly confiscated by suspected members of the trafficking network, identified by police as certain Chinese nationals.
Acting on the intelligence from their Colombian counterparts, NCB-INTERPOL operatives launched a covert tracking operation to locate the victims.
The operation led officers to a suspected hideout in Lagos, where the two women were found and rescued on the same day the intelligence was received.
Police said the suspected traffickers fled the location after noticing the approaching officers, leaving the women behind. Efforts have since been intensified to locate and arrest the fleeing suspects as well as other members of the alleged syndicate.
The rescued women are currently in safe custody and receiving necessary support, according to the police.
The Colombian Embassy in Accra is also working with the Nigerian authorities to arrange temporary accommodation for the victims and obtain emergency travel documents to facilitate their safe return to Bogotá.
The operation highlights the role of international cooperation in tackling human trafficking and other forms of transnational organised crime. Intelligence shared between INTERPOL offices in Colombia and Nigeria enabled authorities to locate the women and intervene before the trafficking operation could continue.
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