Capt. Guot Akol, NBGS police spokesperson| Credit | Courtesy

Police in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State have detained four Sudanese and two South Sudanese for allegedly trafficking people out of the country.

The state police spokesperson, Captain Guot Guot Akol said the suspects were apprehended last week while trying to smuggle nine people of different nationalities out of the country.

“I want to tell you that this network is wider than we expected, and it is based in Juba and the one who is heading it is an Eritrean and followed by other Sudanese,” he said

Captain Guot told Eye Radio, those being trafficked include six Eritreans and three Somalis.

The hostages were being taken to Sudan when the police intercepted the traffickers along the border.

According to Guot, the mastermind is an Eritrean national who operates from Juba.

He reportedly employed South Sudanese nationals including drivers to facilitate his activities.

“The south Sudanese who are with them are their facilitators and they are now under deep investigation,”said the police official.

“It is good enough that our Professional Standard Unit and police in Northern Bahr el Ghazal Satiate were keen enough to monitor such activity.”

Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.

Last year, the Borgen Project said in a report that South Sudan has yet to make significant progress in eliminating the human trafficking problem that threatens the country.

The organization said cartels of traffickers cut across North, Central and East Africa and leave East African migrants and those transiting through South Sudan vulnerable to abduction, sex trafficking and forced labor.

It also added that both domestic and foreign victims are at risk of human traffickers exploiting them in South Sudan.

According to the U.S. Department of State, the situation has caused the nation to remain in the Tier 3 category, meaning it does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.