TRIPOLI (Dawan Africa) – Libyan security forces have freed 62 migrants held by a human trafficking network in Tripoli, among them a Somali national whose family had already paid a ransom for his release, According to Libyan Authority.
According to Libyan Ministry of Interior on Thursday, the operation was carried out by the Information and Investigation Department of the Tripoli Security Directorate, which targeted a detention site in the Tagoura – Al-Naeam district.
The Ministry said the migrants included nationals from Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, and Liberia, with the group comprising eight women and a 20-day-old infant. The detainees were being held to extort ransom payments from their families.
Among those rescued was Jame Mohamed Somal, a Somali national who remained in captivity despite his family paying €17,000 to the traffickers. He was released only after security forces stormed the site.
Authorities confirmed that members of the trafficking gang were arrested during the operation. They were described as African nationals working alongside Libyan collaborators who guarded the detention site.
The Ministry noted that legal action has been initiated against the perpetrators and that the freed migrants have received medical care and humanitarian support.
Libya continues to serve as a dangerous transit route for migrants seeking to reach Europe, where traffickers exploit vulnerable people through detention, ransom, and abuse.