Alex Enumah in Abuja
Operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) selected for the joint operations with the Border Force of the United Kingdom have commenced operations at the London Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.
The team, which comprises male and female operatives, according to a statement, arrived in London at the weekend and was said to have commenced work immediately.
The statement which was signed by the Head, Press and Public Relations (NAPTIP), Josiah Emerole, added that their task primarily is to profile passengers from Nigeria, particularly those of Nigeria decent who may likely be victims of trafficking.
“Their operations entail helping to profile passengers especially those of Nigerian origin with a view to identifying Potential Victims of Trafficking (PVoT), their traffickers and collaborators,†the statement read.
The British authorities recently approved joint operations between NAPTIP operatives and the UK Border Force at the two airports with the aim of randomly profiling passengers and identifying PVoT and suspected traffickers.
This gesture was the outcome of some high level meetings in London between the Director-General of NAPTIP, Julie Okah-Donli, and officials of the Home Office of the United Kingdom.
The NAPTIP boss had at the meetings insisted on mutual respect and liaison by law enforcement agencies across the world in the fight against human trafficking.
This joint operation which would be for a short period would see the operatives of NAPTIP working side by side with the UK Border Force and other relevant agencies at the two gateways into the UK.
Before their departure at the weekend, the Director-General admonished them to be good ambassadors of the agency and Nigeria.
She also urged them to use the opportunity to showcase to the world the capacity of the agency’s personnel to carry out operations anywhere in the world observing global best practices.
