Anas Aremeyaw Anas - Ghana

Anas Aremeyaw Anas, a reporter with an independent Ghanaian newspaper, was responsible for breaking two major trafficking rings in Accra during this reporting period. He worked undercover for eight months, exposing the ring's methods of transportation and the identities of immigration officials who were accepting bribes in return for overlooking fake visas and passports. Mr. Anas made recordings of his interactions, which allowed him to collect evidence that could be used by the police to prosecute the traffickers who were sending girls to Europe for prostitution. As a result of his undercover investigation, and his collaboration with law enforcement, NGOs and other journalists, 17 Nigerian trafficking victims were rescued. Following this success, Anas posed as a janitor in a brothel where he collected evidence of a second ring trafficking children for prostitution. His efforts guided police in planning and executing a raid to rescue minors prostituted in the brothel. His exemplary courage and innovation were instrumental in disrupting two rings that profited from severe forms of human trafficking.