Zambia's immigration officials have seized 372 passports and arrested seven suspects, including four foreign nationals, in connection with a human trafficking network, according to an official statement.
Immigration Department spokesman Namati Nshinka said among the confiscated travel documents on Thursday were 212 passports from Burundi, 44 from Zambia, 20 Zambian refugee passports, eight from Rwanda, seven from Nigeria, two from Cameroon, one from Bangladesh, and another from Zimbabwe.
"The department also recovered various pieces of Information Communication Technology (ICT) equipment and other devices believed to have been used to forge the respective passports,’ said Nshinka.
Zambia remains a targeted conduit for human trafficking due to its geographical centrality, with victims from the Horn of Africa to the continent's southern tip, who are seeking “greener pastures", Anadolu News Agency reports.
Fraudulent documents
Nshinka informed that the arrested suspects include three Zambians, three from Burundi, and one from Congo DR.
“The operation involved the production and use of fraudulent identity and travel documents to obtain visas and facilitate illegal movements of both Zambians and foreign nationals," he added.
Zambia says other security wings are engaged in the investigations, with an additional suspect linked to the network under pursuit.
