How we were sexually exploited in Mali — Nigerian teens

The emergence of organized human trafficking syndicates operating across West African borders presents a growing systemic risk to European businesses operating in the region, particularly those in labor-intensive sectors. Recent investigations into trafficking networks operating between Nigeria and Mali have exposed the sophistication of criminal operations that exploit vulnerable populations, often with territorial reach extending into countries where major European enterprises maintain significant operations. Trafficking organizations now employ structured extortion models that mirror organized crime enterprises elsewhere. These networks target economically vulnerable youth—particularly in Nigeria, West Africa's most populous nation with over 200 million inhabitants—and extract payments from families under the guise of "transportation costs" or "compensation fees." The documented case of "Madam Cassandra" demanding ₦4 million (approximately €5,400) from families illustrates how traffickers have systematized exploitation into revenue-generating operations with pricing structures and enforcement mechanisms. The scale of this problem extends well beyond isolated cases. The International Labour Organization estimates that approximately 7.4 million individuals in sub-Saharan Africa remain in situations of forced labor, with trafficking networks increasingly operating across porous borders in West Africa. Mali, currently experiencing profound security and governance challenges following multiple military coups, has become a transit and destination point for trafficked persons. This instability