The Herald is in possession of flyers used to advertise
jobs, targeting individuals aged 18 to 35, requiring a minimum of five Ordinary
Level passes and a valid passport.
It is alleged that the employer provided the victims a
one-way flight ticket, only to confiscate their passports upon arrival in
Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.
Further, it is alleged that some of the victims were forced
into participating in online dating scams after each victim was provided with a
laptop and instructed to create fake profiles using stolen photos of attractive
individuals.
The scammers would then request cash, gift cards, and
encourage investments in cryptocurrency schemes.
For all the services they provided, it is said they never
got payment after being told the salaries would be deposited into their
Zimbabwean accounts.
Two victims of the human trafficking syndicate returned
home on Tuesday afternoon and were taken into protective custody by Government
officials.
They are assisting authorities with information which may
help facilitate the return of over 20 more Zimbabweans who remain holed up in
the West African country.
Permanent Secretary for Public Service, Labour and Social
Welfare, Mr Simon Masanga, confirmed that they encountered the two alleged
victims at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport on Tuesday.
This followed a tip-off received suggesting that some
victims would be arriving from Sierra Leone.
“Yes, we stumbled upon something yesterday (Tuesday),” said
Mr Masanga yesterday.
“When I was at the airport yesterday (Tuesday), I met a
lady and a gentleman who alleged that they were coming from Sierra Leone.
“They also alleged that they had been recruited by a
private recruitment agent after being offered marketing jobs in Sierra Leone.
According to them, there are still more than 20 Zimbabweans in Sierra Leone who
were recruited to work for a Chinese-based company as digital marketing
agents.”
Sources say the group was deceived by a local company
working in conjunction with another firm based in the West African country.
It is said the victims were promised well-paying jobs, some
earning upwards of US$500, but upon arrival, they found themselves in a
desperate situation.
Said Mr Masanga: “Allegations are that the promises made to
the victims were not fulfilled. Instead of working in marketing, they were
forced to sell cryptocurrencies, which was not what they had anticipated.
“They were promised salaries of around US$500, but
unfortunately, they never received these payments.
“It is alleged that the employer claimed that the salaries
would be deposited into their Zimbabwean bank accounts. However, the victims
found life extremely challenging and eventually decided to leave.”
Mr Masanga made it clear that the Government was not
involved in the process of their recruitment.
“The good thing about what these guys are saying is the
employer bought them air tickets to come back home.
“This explains why we, as Ministry of Public Service,
Labour and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Home Affairs, who are responsible
for migration, were not in the picture or even the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs,” he said.
Mr Masanga noted that he could not definitively confirm
whether the victims worked without pay, as they were told that their salaries
would be deposited directly into their local bank accounts.
He added that it was unclear whether these funds were
actually deposited, as the victims had yet to verify this information with
their banks.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the majority of
the victims left the country on July 4 this year and that Government was now
working flat out to get more information.
Those that have returned will be profiled with a view to
identifying the agent who facilitated their recruitment and travel.
The interviews will also help ascertain if the remaining 20
people are safe in Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile, Government has warned the public against
applying for jobs that seem to be lucrative without consulting authorities.
Added Mr Masanga: “We have established the Migrant Resource
Centre in Harare and Gweru and we are going to extend this to other centres in
order to give adequate information to would-be migrants looking for
opportunities outside the country.
“I implore the public to avoid unverified information from
individuals trying to lure them abroad. Instead, they must come to Government
offices for guidance. We have the resources to assess the safety of travel
abroad for employment opportunities through our foreign missions and other
contacts.”
He also revealed that Government was actively working to
expand bilateral labour agreements with numerous countries with the aim of
facilitating a government-to-government arrangement.
This initiative, Mr Masanga said, would enable individuals
to seek employment in destination countries with greater ease and security
similar to how the Government sent professionals to Rwanda. Herald
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