263 illegal immigrants rescued in al-Wahat district

Jan 30, 2025 | Libyan actors

On 30 January, the Criminal Investigation Agency announced the rescue of 263 illegal immigrants in al-Wahat district and the arrest of two members of a criminal gang that had detained them, subjected them to horrific abuses, and kept them in extremely poor humanitarian and health conditions. The Agency indicated that the freed immigrants were from Eritrea, Somalia, and Ethiopia. They had been kidnapped at different times and taken to this location, with some having been detained there for up to eight months. Among the rescued individuals were several women who had been raped, while one man lost his life due to severe malnutrition while in captivity. Initial investigations revealed that the detainees had been holding the immigrants to extort ransom payments from their families, demanding $17,000 for the release of each Somali person and $10,000 for each Eritrean person.