As part of ongoing efforts to dismantle human trafficking networks in Cameroon, and following numerous reports of online fraud and kidnappings of relatives abroad, the Central Judicial Research Service of the National Gendarmerie launched an investigation on May 16, 2026.
The investigations led to the dismantling of a vast criminal network involved in human trafficking and smuggling, operating under the guise of multi-level marketing activities under the names QNET, IGNITE, and UNIMEC. The operation resulted in the arrest of 13 individuals, including six senior coordinators in Cameroon and seven active representatives or intermediaries. Authorities also identified more than 600 recruited victims and several houses used as logistics bases and lodging in the cities of Douala, Bafoussam, Ebolowa, Kye-Ossi, Bertoua, Ngaoundéré, Maroua, Garoua and Yaoundé.
According to Colonel Atangana Fiacre Kisito, Deputy Central Director of Coordination (DCC-A) and Director of Employment and Structures (DES), the suspects — whose masterminds are based in Malaysia with active branches in West and Central Africa — primarily target vulnerable youth, job seekers, students, and those aspiring to emigrate. Their modus operandi involves luring victims with job offers or training abroad, promises of high returns, risk-free guarantees, and aggressive or pressured recruitment.
Once recruited, the victims were forced to pay high fees and were grouped together in compounds converted into collective dormitories, where they endured coercive supervision and constant pressure. Some victims from the southern part of the country were transferred via Garoua to Nigeria, while foreigners, particularly Chadians, were introduced into local networks in the Yaoundé neighborhoods of Awae, Tam-Tam, Mvan and Nkozoa.
Faced with the scale of the phenomenon, the Deputy Central Director of Coordination called on the public to be more vigilant and not to be swayed by illusion sellers, tempting online business offers, or attractive proposals from relatives.
The ongoing investigation is actively searching for two individuals formally identified and located in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. The suspects will be presented before the State Prosecutor at the Yaoundé High Court in the coming days.
