Madar (Bobo-Dioulasso) - Police in Bobo-Dioulasso, western Burkina Faso, have arrested a gold miner suspected of abducting and trafficking three minors aged 13 and 14, who were taken to work at a gold-mining site in a neighbouring country where one of them, aged 13, died, news site Lefaso.net reported on Monday, 19 October 2026.
Chief Superintendent Boukary Sawadogo, head of the Guiriko regional child protection brigade, told a press conference that the families, who had lost track of their children and learned they had been taken to a neighbouring country without their consent, received a phone call on 5 October 2026 announcing the death of one of them. Three fathers filed a complaint the next day.
The main suspect, a gold miner living in Bama, was arrested on 11 October 2026 at the Bobo-Dioulasso bus station as he returned with the two surviving children. He admitted to abduction and aggravated human trafficking during questioning, according to the police officer. An alleged accomplice, also believed to be a minor, is on the run.
According to the police account, the children were put to work at the site; two fell ill after about two weeks, and one died at a clinic before receiving treatment. Statements by the suspect and one survivor indicate that the boy who died had been physically abused after saying he wanted to go home. The two survivors were returned to their parents.
The officer said the offences carry prison terms of 11 to 21 years, and recalled that on 26 September 2026 police intercepted 16 minors aboard a bus bound for a neighbouring country, with six people referred to prosecutors. He urged parents and transport operators to be vigilant.
