The Criminal Investigation Agency has announced the rescue of 263 illegal immigrants in Al-Wahat district and the arrest of two members of a criminal gang that had detained them, subjected them to horrific abuses, and kept them in extremely poor humanitarian and health conditions.
The security operation led to the arrest of two members of the criminal network following intelligence reports indicating the existence of a human trafficking hideout inside a rest house on Palm Project Street in Ejkhara area in the district.
Forces from the Criminal Investigation Agency - Al-Wahat Branch - raided the identified rest house, where they found 263 illegal migrants, all in extremely poor health due to the torture they endured at the hands of the gang while being held captive.
The Agency indicated that the freed immigrants were from Eritrea, Somalia, and Ethiopia. They had been kidnapped at different times and taken to this location, with some having been detained there for up to eight months. Among the rescued individuals were several women who had been raped, while one man lost his life due to severe malnutrition while in captivity.
The immigrants were transferred to the branch headquarters, with 25 of them taken to the hospital due to critical health conditions. Meanwhile, two members of the gang responsible for their detention were arrested, including the owner of the rest house, which had been turned into a prison for immigrants. Efforts are ongoing to track down the remaining members of the gang.
Initial investigations revealed that the detainees had been holding the immigrants to extort ransom payments from their families, demanding $17,000 for the release of each Somali person and $10,000 for each Eritrean person.
The arrested individuals were referred to the Jalu Primary Prosecutor’s Office, which ordered their detention after confirming that they were part of a criminal organization involved in coordinating illegal cross-border immigration, human trafficking, and the unlawful detention of victims. The captives were subjected to torture, cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment to force their families into paying ransom for their release.
