Ghanaian authorities have announced the rescue of 76 citizens trafficked to Nigeria under the guise of job and travel opportunities.

The victims, mostly young men, were reportedly lured with promises of football contracts, overseas jobs, and visa processing assistance before being held under harsh conditions, the BBC said in a report on Tuesday.

The head of Ghana’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Lydia Yaako Donkor, said the rescue was carried out between May 19 and June 27 in collaboration with Interpol and Nigerian law enforcement.

The victims were recovered from multiple locations across Nigeria and have yet to be repatriated.

According to police, the trafficked individuals had their mobile phones and travel documents confiscated upon arrival in Nigeria. They were then housed in overcrowded and substandard rooms, where they were pressured to contact family members to solicit funds—around $1,000 each—for fake training and facilitation fees.

Investigators say the syndicate exploited the victims’ phone contact lists to defraud relatives and friends.

“The psychological and economic harm caused to these victims and their families is devastating,” Donkor said at a press briefing in Accra. “Many of them were malnourished and mentally affected.”

She warned that victims were often forced to help recruit others, including their own acquaintances, under pressure from their captors. “They are made to believe they are being offered life-changing opportunities, only to find themselves trapped,” she added.

Seven Ghanaian nationals have been arrested in connection with the scam, and efforts to dismantle the wider network are ongoing.

According to the BBC, the recruitment scheme is allegedly linked to QNET, a global marketing company banned from operating in Ghana since 2022 over allegations of fraud. The firm has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Ghanaian authorities have urged the public to verify job and travel offers thoroughly, noting that such scams are increasingly common across West Africa.