Sierra Leonean victims of an online scam arrived in Freetown on Wednesday 1 August, 2021 . They are expected to meet with officials at the Ministry of Social Welfare today, according to Ishmael Bayoh, the Information Attache’ at the Sierra Leone Embassy in Senegal. 31 people were victims of the scam which made them to part with $1,000 each, with the promise of jobs in Senegal that could earn them a monthly pay cheque of $1,000. They were found in the town of Thies just outside Dakar and were then visited by Ambassador Alhaji Brima Elvis Koroma.
It has been confirmed also by the Information Attache’ that, seven people comprising a Sierra Leonean, five Senegalese, and a Guinean have now been taken into custody by the Senegalese Police.
The Embassy reportedly engaged the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that then facilitated their air travel back to Sierra Leone after proper profiling. The Embassy prepared Emergency Travel Certificates for those without passports.
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