Interpol has launched an investigation into a possible case of human trafficking involving the “Alabuga” factory in Tatarstan, Russia, which specializes in the production of drones used in attacks on Ukraine. This initiative follows reports from Botswana, where suspicious activities related to the recruitment of young African women were detected.
Since 2022, around 350 women from impoverished countries—particularly in Africa—are believed to have been transferred to the Alabuga factory. Under the guise of prestigious and well-paid internships, these young women were in fact assigned to drone production tasks—a blatant discrepancy from the roles they had been promised.
Documents revealed by Yahoo News indicate that Russia aims to recruit up to 8,500 additional women by 2025, raising serious concerns about a massive and deeply deceptive recruitment campaign. The job offers, often advertised on social media, promised attractive salaries and professional opportunities, while concealing industrial exploitation within a military context.
This case highlights a disturbing strategy: the instrumentalization of economic hardship in African populations to serve foreign interests, in conflict zones where they have nothing to gain and everything to lose. Once again, young African women, deprived of local opportunities, become easy prey for deceitful promises.
We issue this warning to African youth: in a world of escalating geopolitical tensions, vigilance is more essential than ever. Africa, rich in human and natural resources, must not become a reservoir of exploitation for foreign ambitions. Every young woman and every young man deserves better than to become a pawn in wars that are not their own.
We will continue to follow Interpol’s investigation and amplify the voices of the victims, so that these practices are exposed and human dignity is upheld.