The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP), has resolved to deploy modern technology to tackle the menace of human trafficking. The Director-General of NAPTIP, Mrs Julie Okah-Donli, told journalists on Wednesday in Lagos that the new technology would afford the Agency to be more proactive and facilitate identifying and apprehending human traffickers.

“My tenure will see to the adoption of modern technology, skills and expertise in investigation and prosecution. Human trafficking is a global phenomenon of serious concern that requires collective effort. It is a known fact that human trafficking has moved from the era of analogue and person-to-person recruitment to a well-orchestrated criminal network.”

She said there was a network that was designed to deceive even the very best of operatives. “Surveillance and intelligence teams will be increased around known endemic communities and crime clusters,” Okah-Donli said.

According to her, the Agency will build synergy with critical stakeholders in the community, including religious and opinion leaders, for the purpose of monitoring unwholesome activities of traffickers within settlements. “For the perpetrators of the heinous crime, it is time to close shops. With hot pursuits by NAPTIP, they should give up on this evil trade and look for new and genuine business,” she said advised.

(NAN)