The Benin Zonal Command, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), said it arrested seven suspected human traffickers in the zone between January and March.

Mr Nduka Nwanwenne, the Zonal Commander, comprising Edo and Delta disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin on Friday.

Nwanwenne said the arrest of the suspects were in connection with 27 cases reported to the zone.He also said that the zone within the period under review, received about 20 victims of human trafficking.

The zonal commander said the command headquarters was repositioned to enable it embark on mass awareness campaign on issues of human trafficking.He said that there were still 33 pending cases on human trafficking in courts.He also said that the agency in the zone was building as well as strengthening the synergy and collaboration with stakeholders.

He added that within the period under review, the agency, in conjunction with the Delta Government, inaugurated the Delta State Task Force on Human Trafficking. Nwanwenne noted that with the taskforce now in place, the two states under the zone were better positioned to adopt best practices in tackling human trafficking and other related vices.