(Bloomberg) -- Ivory Coast police rescued 11 children and two adults who were allegedly forced to work on cocoa plantations in the southwest of the country, police commissioner Luc Zaka said in an interview Thursday.
The operation, during which one Ivorian and two Burkinabe nationals and were arrested, was carried out in the main cocoa-growing region of Soubre this week. The crackdown is part of continued efforts to eradicate forced child labor in the cocoa value chain.
“Among the victims there are 9 Burkinabe children who have been handed over to the consul in San Pedro,” he said.
A sting operation had been planned between July and August, but had to be postponed due to restrictions imposed to curb the coronavirus outbreak. An industry report in June confirmed child labor had increased in the world's top grower during the partial lockdown.
In January, authorities rescued 137 children and arrested 12 suspected traffickers during a two-day swoop. They've since received more resources and opened six operational centers in the main cocoa producing regions to better tackle the scourge.
At least two million children were working in plantations in West Africa, according to Cocoa Barometer 2018, published by several non-governmental organizations including Oxfam and Voice Network.
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