An unscrupulous form of human trafficking thrives across the Sahara and Sahel, exploiting refugees and migrants fleeing conflict, poverty or persecution – who find themselves kidnapped, held captive, and used as ransom pawns by criminal networks. Criminal networks prey upon desperate people trying to leave behind conflict, poverty or persecution while also capitalizing on vulnerable families scrambling to pay large sums in ransom for their loved one’s release.

Learn the inner workings of an Extortion Machine

As refugees make perilous journeys from Niger, Libya, Sudan or Chad to Europe or elsewhere via Niger, Libya, Sudan or Chad, they pass through regions where governance is weak and criminal actors operate with impunity. IOM and UNHCR report that traffickers increasingly view migrants less as clients of smuggling than hostages to be monetised; ResearchGate | UNHCR | Tiligburun university.edu.
Once captured, victims are transported to clandestine detention sites hidden deep within desert or transit states like Libya where they are tortured, denied food and water and forced to contact their families through video calls so that ransom demands can be enforced. The New Yorker AND WIKIPEDIA
Families living abroad face a stark choice: pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars as ransom demands are typically between US$30,000 to US$50 thousand per victim in Eritrea; Human Rights Watch states this figure for victims from 2012.
Drivers and Vulnerabilities.

There are multiple factors contributing to this tragedy. First, refugees travelling irregularly without legal protections make them particularly susceptible to traffickers and should therefore be protected against them by CMI – Chr. Michelsen Institute
Second, transit and destination countries often suffer from weak rule of law, corruption and porous borders; creating space for kidnappers. Our organization ENACT Africa was designed to address such challenges.
Thirdly, due to the cost and remoteness of the Sahara, protection mechanisms are scarce and hard to access. Fourthly, traffickers’ models have changed: instead of just transporting victims onward, captors now view victims as repeat revenue sources through ransom payments. SAGE Journals offers more on this topic here.
Human Impact
The human cost is devastating: survivors recount being chained or confined underground, tortured with metal rods, electrocuted, given no food, forced into labour and sexually exploited all in order to pressure their families into paying the ransom demands. Human Rights Watch (+11)
One illustrative case involved a captive who sent video from his bondage in Libya so his family would understand its urgency.
Sihma
Detention can have devastating emotional, physical and financial repercussions that extend far beyond just those held. Families mortgage property to secure release; items are sold or loaned out; crowd-funding campaigns take place via social media – sometimes without success; victims even after ransom payments may still be trafficked further or subjected to abuse and violence after release from detention. WATCH | TIME + 1
Addressing the ransom-for-trafficking crisis requires multifaceted action:

Strengthening protection and monitoring for refugees in transit, including registration and legal status issues so they are less vulnerable to criminal actors.

Improving cross-border, regional cooperation among transit states such as Niger, Libya, Sudan etc. in order to reduce detention camps and trafficking hubs.

Disrupting financial flows associated with ransom payments – including informal hawala systems and social-media crowdfunding channels used by families under duress.

Enhancing support and reintegration efforts for survivors, including medical, psychological, and legal assistance.

Raising awareness among prospective migrants of both traditional smuggling as well as being held hostage for ransom.

Conclusion
The deep Sahara and fragile states surrounding it form an underground arena where traffickers now treat refugees not just as cargo but as assets — hostages they will abduct, torture, demand ransom for ransom demands and employ family extortion techniques against families that remain trapped owing to structural vulnerabilities that facilitate this trade. Until structural vulnerabilities that enable this trade are addressed, many more families will remain trapped while bearing both personal and financial consequences of what their loved ones endured.