A 17-year-old student is facing human trafficking charges for trafficking 170 people.

According to police reports, the 170 youths being trafficked had been promised jobs.

He sheltered his hostages at the home of a 28-year-old woman in Nampunge village, Kakiri sub-county in Wakiso District in Uganda.

According to police reports the woman had been arrested earlier in the month.

Woman’s arrest

She had been acting as his recruiting agent and together they had allegedly conned 98 human trafficking victims.

“The victims from Nansana, Kyengera, Bukomero, Butambala, Kasese, Fort Portal and Kyegegwa had each paid Shs 100,000 for the promised jobs,” read police reports.

He was arrested in Kyondo in Kapeka on September 18 and is being held at Kakiri Police Division, Wakiso District.

Confessing to the crime

He reportedly confessed to human trafficking admitting that he wanted to extort money from his victims.

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“Upon interrogation, he admitted that he wanted to extort money from the victims using the name of Humble Company based in Kenya,” said police spokesperson SCP Fred Enanga.

“There was no connection with the company and the job advert for waiters, waitresses, coffee parkers and supermarket attendants in Kenya was fake,” he added.

According to police, they were tipped off by locals who were concerned by the many individuals that were gathered in the home.

They reasoned that they must have come from different geographical areas as they spoke different languages.

“The owner of the home was arrested and has since been slapped with charges related to human trafficking.”