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EXCLUSIVE: Somalia let free human traffickers arrested and deported by South Sudan

Storyline:National News

Four Somali human traffickers who were arrested by South Sudan authorities sneaking out a 14 year Somali boy from a refugee camp in Uganda and deported as a result to Mogadishu were released by Somali government without charges, Goobjoog News can authoritatively report.

Documents obtained by Goobjoog News detailing the arrests by South Sudan police and deportation orders show that three of the traffickers were arrested and handed over to Somalia for prosecution in accordance to the country’s laws.

“The acting IGP for South Sudan National Police Service presents compliments to you and wish to inform you the three Somali nationals who were suspects of an act of Human trafficking where a minor Abdirahman Hassan Elmi a 14 year old boy of Somalia national was trafficked from one of the Refugee Camps in Uganda and taken across South Sudan but later rescued in the border town of Aweil when they were about to cross to Sudan territory,” the letter addressed to chief of Somali Police Force reads in part.

Lt. Gen. James Pui Yak Yiel further informed his Somali counterpart the three suspects were brought to Juba and the victim re-united later with his family in Uganda with the help of Somali embassy in Juba.

Suspects

The three suspects are identified as Aydarus Abdullahi Nahar (Date of Birth May 5, 1992), Abdirahman Mohamud Socdal (Date of Birth March 1, 1989), and Liban Abdullahi Hussein (Date of Birth January 1, 1992). The dates of birth are based on information as presented in the travel documents. An impeccable source privy to the developments in Somalia’s embassy in South Sudan intimated to Goobjoog News the three have since been released by authorities in Mogadishu without charges.

“We have established that the three were let free by the courts in Mogadishu after it emerged no one had any complaints against them,” the source who did not want to be named owing to the sensitive nature of the matter told Goobjoog News.

Deportation

The three suspects according to the itinerary from the South Sudan Police Force and also shared with the immigration authorities in Juba addressed to their counterparts in Mogadishu were to depart Juba July 15, 2017 by carrier 540 flight number 5H0724 at 1634Hrs and arrive in Nairobi at 1810Hrs. Subsequently, they would board African (supposedly African Express) flight number XU0523 departing Nairobi 0800Hrs and arriving in Mogadishu at 0930Hrs.

Our sources further indicates two other Somali nationals had been deported from Sudan for similar acts of human trafficking and one handed over to the Somali authorities in Mogadishu but also walked scot-free.

A screen shot of the letter from South Sudan Police to their counterparts in Somalia notifying them of the arrest and deportation of the suspects.

Abdulkadir Omar Abdulle born November 24, 1992 according to travel documents obtained by Goobjoog News was deported July 3, 2017 and escorted by South Sudan police to Mogadishu just like the other three.

The fifth whose identity remains unknown was also deported from South Sudan on human trafficking charges but was dropped in Nairobi. “He lied to authorities in Juba that he did not have a passport and was issued with a emergency travel document. When he arrived in Nairobi he used his passport to get to Mogadishu without raising any suspicions,” the source said.

Efforts by Goobjoog News to reach authorities in Mogadishu did not bear any fruit.

Human trafficking remains a major challenge in the region with Somalis and Ethiopians falling victim to traffickers either through the Yemen route or Sudan-Libya route in the hope of heading to Europe. Upon arrival in Libya, the traffickers hold their victims hostage demanding ransom from their families.

At least 100 Somali and Ethiopian migrants were killed in Yemen last week in two occasions within a 24 hours period after their smugglers forced them into the high seas avoiding arrests by authorities.

“The release of the traffickers sends a very disturbing message to the fight against human trafficking particularly to authorities in South Sudan who did their best to save this child from being trafficked,” the source said.

Failure to prosecute these suspects despite confirmation by a friendly government that they had committed an offense even punishable by international law means the traffickers can still go on with their crimes without any fears, the source added.