The Liberia National Police (LNP) has arrested, charged and sent to court three men reported to be members of Q-Net, a group accused of “419” activities, for the crime of trafficking in persons and criminal conspiracy, which is said to violate section 2A & and 10.4 of the Trafficking in Person Act and the New Panel Law of Liberia, due to their involvement into the recruiting and deceiving of Sierra Leoneans.
According to the police charge sheet at the news desk of the Hot Pepper, the defendant, Yacouba Sawadogo, was arrested, along with Foday Kaba and Ibrahim S. Bangura, due to their involvement into the recruiting and deceiving of about eleven (11) Sierra Leoneans: Amin Toure, Fatumata Sesay, Cecelia Kargbo, Abdul Bangura, Abass Kanu Hassan Kargbo, Hassan Sesay, Amindu Conte, Bangura Alieu, Ibrahim Kamara and Foday Bangura, under the pretense of providing them travel opportunity to Canada where they would work and earn money to improve their lives.
According to the charge sheet, the victims were made to pay US$1,000.00 each at their Kebbah Q-net office, and since then they have been kept in an isolated place in Barnersville under the control of Q-net office.
The charge sheet stated that the eleven persons did not travel to Canada; rather, diverted to go to their office with the instruction that each of them bring two additional persons, in order to start to earn money. The defendant is said to have refused to refund the victims’ money.
According to victiim Amin Toure, in September 2022 he received a call from his brother-in-law telling him that he has a program to travel to Canada through his friend, Foday Kamara, and that he needed to come to Liberia to start the process.
He said on September 9, 2022 he came to Monrovia and met Foday Kabia who immediately took him to their office, Blue Diamond 006 (Q-net) located in Kebbah, Barnesville, and introduced him to Yacouba Sawadogo. The next day, he said, he was taken to the office and there he paid the sum of US$1,000 for the process.
He stated that, since then he has not traveled, but was told to bring two other persons to join the program. He said he requested for his money to be returned but they have refused to do so.
For her part, victim Fatumatu Saysay said in May 2023 she was in Sierra Leone when Abaham Bangura called her from Liberia and told her about a program to travel to Canada, and asked her to come to Liberia.
Saysay explained that, upon her arrival in Liberia she met with Bangura, who took her to their office and introduced her to Yaccouba who was responsible for all the documents. She stated that she gave him US$1,000.00 for the processing of her travel to Canada, but up to present she was not made to travel and her money cannot be refunded.
The police charge sheet revealed that all the victims were given similar information to come to Liberia by the Q-Net members, made to pay US$1,000 each and told to recruit additional two persons to join the network, without refund or success to travel to Canada.