'I was lured in': Survivor shares story of Indian sex slavery ring

It began with a promise—an overseas job, a fresh start, and the dream of lifting her family out of poverty.

Miriam Njeri’s friend, a former schoolmate, spoke with conviction about a job in the Indian hospitality sector. The salary sounded life-changing. Having completed secondary school and burdened by her family’s financial struggles, Njeri could not pass up the opportunity, which promised a monthly salary of Sh25,000.

She trusted her friend. Little did she know that this former schoolmate was setting her up to be trafficked for sex—something Njeri only discovered upon landing in India in April 2019.

“I got interested because of vulnerability and family pressure after Form Four. I come from a humble background and had been out of school for over three years without any work. I wanted to make it in life quickly,” she said.

Her friend not only told her about the supposed job but also linked her to another ‘madam’, who paid for her flight, medical expenses, and even gave her Sh50,000 in pocket money.

Upon arrival in India, Njeri said she immediately sensed something was wrong. The people who received her appeared suspicious.

“I could tell just by how unkempt and controlling they were that something was off and I had landed in trouble. They took me to a taxi, and the conversation was weird,” she recalled.

Among the things she overheard them discussing was how young she was and who among the alleged men they were to meet could take care of her. 

“They said that I could only be handled by a Nigerian person. They took me to a brothel, where I met other Kenyans. We also found more women from other countries; around 50 of them,” she said.

Trapped in New Delhi with no resources and no one to trust, Njeri endured two months in captivity before planning her escape. Her first attempt failed when officers from the city arrested her and took her back to her handler.

“The second time I called my family, who helped me get my message to the embassy. After speaking to them, I escaped under the pretext that I had gone to work, only to run to the embassy,” she said.

She said she was rescued and returned to Kenya by Haart Kenya, an organisation fighting against trafficking, in partnership with the Kenyan government.

“I was lucky to escape. There were many others I left behind,” she said.

According to her, the embassy intervened and demanded the traffickers surrender her documents. Fearing prosecution, they complied.

Now back home, Njeri works with Survivor Network Kenya, a group supporting survivors of trafficking and forced labour. She believes Kenya’s anti-trafficking policies are strong on paper but weak in implementation.

She urged the youth to be vigilant when seeking employment abroad and to ensure they register with agencies accredited by the National Employment Authority (NEA).

Samson Maina, 30, found himself in a similar ordeal. A university graduate, he was offered what appeared to be a lucrative opportunity as a mobile customer service representative in Thailand in September 2024. The job promised a monthly salary of Sh113,000.

All seemed well on September 4, 2024, when he departed Kenya via Qatar en route to Thailand. But things quickly turned suspicious when he and other recruits were shuffled between vehicles.

“It felt like they were hiding us. For about 24 hours, we moved from Thailand and crossed the border using a boat before we found ourselves in Myanmar,” he said.

Maina and others were taken to a secure compound where their phones and laptops were seized and wiped clean. It was only then that they were told their real assignment: to scam American citizens online.

“Our task was to pose as wealthy Americans working in real estate. We had no choice—any resistance was met with threats or punishment,” he said.

Maina’s escape came in February 2025 after the abduction of a Chinese actor drew international attention. The incident prompted a joint Chinese-Thai raid on the compound where Maina and others were being held.

“We were rescued and taken to the embassy. I was flown back to Kenya on April 3, 2025,” he said.

Speaking during the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Principal Secretary for Children’s Services, Carren Ageng’o, warned that trafficking networks are highly organised and transnational.

“Perpetrators prey on anyone regardless of their race, colour, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and age. This means that anyone can be trafficked, and it is therefore not easy to have a typical profile of a victim of trafficking,” she said.