Kenya rescues citizens from suspected organ traffickers

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Kenya’s Foreign Ministry on Friday said it rescued 24 trafficked Africans, mostly Kenyans, in cooperation with authorities in Laos and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The Foreign Ministry in Kenya said that there is worrying intelligence information on organ extraction of workers tied to the case.

“It is now emerging that there could be hundreds of mostly young Kenyans working in 'Fraud Factories' in South East Asia, more worrying is intelligence information that some of the factories may be facilities for extracting and storing human organs,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The 24 people (22 Kenyans, a Ugandan and a Burundian) had contacted authorities back home raising the distress calls that saved them after being duped of being given employment opportunities in the Asian country.

"Public sensitization campaigns remain the best weapon to raise awareness and thereby reduce this new threat to the safety and well-being of Kenyans," the Kenyan Ministry added.

The ministry noted that the human trafficking menace, once considered an endemic problem in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is now going global, warning that the cartels are now venturing into other parts of the world, particularly Africa and South Asia, luring a new breed of victims.

The new breed includes young and techno-savvy individuals, well-educated, computer literate, and multilingual youth.

The government of Kenya has warned its people to stop applying for online jobs that are advertised in South East Asia without authenticating them, as this exposes them to dangers including the possibility of losing body organs.