The Ministry of Justice, through its Minister for Litigation, Cllr. Wesseh Alphonsus Wesseh, has requested Criminal Court “A” Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie to issue an international arrest warrant against Samuel Chan-Chan, the main defendant in the alleged Trafficking in Persons case, who is currently residing in the United Arab Emirates.
The Ministry of Justice claimed that Samuel Chan-Chan is the main defendant, and his brother, Arthur Chan-Chan, who is in Liberia and also connected to the crime, has been arrested and imprisoned. Both were issued with a court summons by the government for organizing a scheme that led to the trafficking of some Liberians to Oman.
According to court documents from the Ministry of Justice, in December 2021, defendants Arthur Chan-Chan, Samuel Chan-Chan, and others who are yet to be identified, organized a criminal scheme, under the false pretense of providing employment opportunities and greener pastures for the victims to travel to the Middle Eastern State of Oman.
The victims were directed by co-defendant Arthur Chan-Chan to defendant Samuel Chan-Chan, who was residing in the UAE at the time, and promised employment opportunities, good pay of about US$500.00 per month, including free housing and other amenities. In order for the victims to process their traveling documents, they were directed to pay US$400 to defendant Samuel Chan-Chan through his wife, Eve Kepedeh in Monrovia.
Instead of getting good jobs and being paid in the UAE, upon arriving at the Roberts International Airport, the victims received tickets and passports from co-defendant Arthur Chan-Chan for Oman, rather than the UAE.
The court document further states, prior to the departure of the victims, from the RIA, defendant Samuel Chan-Chan instructed them to pay US$75.00 to co-defendant Arthur Chan-Chan for their free passage through the RIA, which was converted to co-defendant Arthur Chan-Chan’s personal use. Co-defendant Arthur Chan-Chan claimed to be an Immigration officer and deceived the victims, but was instead revealed to be an agent of the National Security Agency (NSA).
The document noted that upon the arrival of the victims in Oman, they were met by an agent who seized their traveling documents, including passports, and were then subjected to inhuman treatment by individuals they worked for several hours at several places of work.
The Justice Ministry claimed that defendant Samuel Chan-Chan was indicted along with convict Arthur Chan-Chan, who is currently a resident of the UAE, for the commission of the said crime.
According to the Revised Trafficking in Persons Act of 2021, “trafficking in persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of a person by means of threat or use of force and other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, or deception, or abuse of power or power of vulnerability, or giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person over another person for the purpose of exploitation.”
The Ministry of Justice hopes that if an international arrest warrant is issued against defendant Samuel Chan-Chan, it will lead to his arrest and repatriation to Liberia to face justice.
Based on the request from the Ministry of Justice, Judge Willie has mandated the Inspector General of the Liberia National Police, Patrick Sudue, to carry out the international arrest warrant for Mr. Samuel Chan-Chan.
Arthur Chan-Chan, 57 years old, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
