Rwanda police intercept 12 Burundians in suspected human trafficking

The Rwandan Police said Monday they have intercepted 12 Burundian nationals on suspicion that they were being taken to Middle East countries in a human trafficking scheme.

The Burundians were intercepted earlier this month at the Rwanda-Burundi border of Akanyaru on their way through Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya, Police said.

According to the Deputy Police Spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Lynder Nkuranga, the Burundians including 11 women were destined to Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Police said three suspects including one Burundian and two Kenyans were arrested in connection with the scheme.

Speaking from Rwanda Police headquarters on Monday, the victims claimed the suspects had promised them good jobs.

Police said arrangements were underway to repatriate the victims.

Last August the Rwandan police sent 12 Burundian women back home after it was revealed that they were on their way to Arab countries as victims of human trafficking.

The 2016 U.S. State Department's report on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) said Rwanda was a source, and to a lesser degree, a transit and destination country for a limited number of women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.

But the Rwandan government dismissed the report as a gross misrepresentation of the reality.

Chief Superintendent Nkuranga Monday reaffirmed her country's commitment to fight human trafficking. Endit