'Model Q': The new human trafficking method causing havoc in West Africa

Human trafficking across West and Central Africa is undergoing a dangerous transformation, with traditional recruitment methods rapidly being replaced by sophisticated digital deception, the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Lydia Yaako Donkor, has warned.

Speaking at the opening of the EOCO-INTERPOL Three-Day Regional Coordination and Case Resolution Workshop on Combating Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling on Monday, July 6, 2026, DCOP Donkor said organised criminal syndicates are increasingly exploiting online platforms to lure vulnerable people into modern forms of exploitation through a criminal model known as 'Model Q.'

According to her, traffickers are abandoning conventional methods in favour of technology-driven schemes that use social media, fraudulent employment websites, and online recruitment platforms to identify and deceive victims.

"Traditional methods of trafficking are being aggressively replaced by digital deception," she stated.

"'Model Q' is not merely a crime of physical coercion; it is an engineered system that weaponises online platforms, social media, and fraudulent employment portals to target our young, vulnerable adults."

She explained that victims are typically enticed with fake job offers, scholarships, or lucrative business opportunities abroad and are persuaded to pay processing fees through mobile money platforms before travelling.

However, upon crossing international borders, the promised opportunities disappear, leaving victims trapped in exploitative situations.

"By promising legitimate jobs, scholarships, or multi-level marketing opportunities, these criminal networks lure victims into paying upfront processing fees via mobile money," she said.

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DCOP Donkor noted that the digital nature of the recruitment process allows traffickers to coordinate operations across multiple countries while remaining largely hidden from law enforcement agencies.

She said victims often have their identity documents confiscated, their communications monitored, and their movements tightly controlled once they arrive at their destinations.

"Once transported across our porous borders, their identities are stripped, their communication is monitored, and they are subjected to intense psychological and ritual coercion," she disclosed.

She also highlighted another disturbing aspect of Model Q, explaining that trafficked victims are frequently forced to recruit friends, relatives, and acquaintances into the same criminal network.

"Most alarmingly, this model forces the victims themselves to recruit the next wave of targets, creating a self-perpetuating cycle that tragically blurs the lines between victim and perpetrator," she said.

She stressed that understanding how digital deception is reshaping human trafficking would be critical for law enforcement agencies seeking to dismantle organised criminal networks while ensuring victims receive the protection and support they need.

The Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Raymond Archer, re-echoed the dangers of Model Q and how it operates.

He noted that a collaborative effort would be needed to fight Model Q and other forms of human trafficking.

He thus called on all participants to take advantage of the workshop and form networks that would help combat human trafficking in their respective countries.

The three-day workshop, organised by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in partnership with INTERPOL, has brought together investigators, prosecutors, intelligence officers, and law enforcement officials from across West and Central Africa to strengthen regional cooperation against human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and organised transnational crime.

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