Prostitution in Kédougou: Gold panning at the heart of a network trafficking Nigerian women

The mining region of Kédougou attracts gold prospectors. It also attracts criminal networks. The recent dismantling of a prostitution ring involving Nigerian women reveals a disturbing truth: where the state remains discreet, human exploitation takes root, methodical, profitable, almost commonplace.

A report that reveals the truth.

On Sunday, December 21, the National Police announced the arrest of the suspected mastermind of a network trafficking women from Nigeria . The investigation began far from the air-conditioned offices: a local witness alerted the regional branch of the Division for Combating Migrant Smuggling. In Kédougou, speaking out remains an act of bravery. Fear is pervasive, fueled by money from gold mining and by tacit complicity that everyone suspects but never names.

From false promises to imprisonment

According to initial findings of the investigation, the victims were recruited through informal networks with the promise of decent jobs. Upon arrival, their documents confiscated, they were subjected to a system of coercion: artificial debts, threats, and psychological abuse. Prostitution became a daily obligation, serving an anonymous clientele from the mining sites.

Kédougou, a laboratory of the gray economy

The region is a magnet for all the blind spots: uncontrolled migration flows, remote areas, and under-resourced security forces. Gold mining, both legal and illegal, generates a parallel economy where everything has its price, including bodies. It's no coincidence that trafficking networks infiltrate these territories. They know the law is always too late to arrive.

A phenomenon that is far from isolated

This case adds to a series of similar cases identified in recent months in Senegal , involving women from several countries in the sub-region. Each arrest is presented as a victory. But it mostly resembles an admission: that of a system that thrives faster than the public response.

The State facing its contradictions

The authorities promise firm action and prosecutions. Yet, on the ground, victims remain invisible, poorly protected, and rarely receive long-term support. In Kédougou, the question is no longer whether these networks exist, but how many continue to operate discreetly. Gold glitters. So does misery. And as long as this equation remains unchanged, human trafficking will remain just another lucrative business.