12-year-old girl trafficked for forced marriage rescued at Lisbon Airport

A critical stopover in Lisbon

On 25 July 2026, a flight from Dakar, Senegal, arrived at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport carrying a 12-year-old girl from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a 45-year-old French woman. The pair claimed to be mother and daughter on their way to Paris for a holiday. During routine border checks by the PSP’s National Unit for Foreigners and Borders (UNEF), officers spotted inconsistencies: the girl’s passport did not match her identity and the woman gave conflicting answers about the hotel and length of stay. A Frontex border guard fluent in French and experienced in trafficking detection joined the screening.

The girl’s testimony

Moved to a secondary inspection after the initial doubts, the girl was separated from the woman. She disclosed that she had never met her before. The child said her own parents had handed her over to a man who was to take her to France, where she would be forced to marry a stranger to settle a family debt. The woman later admitted she had been paid to transport and deliver the child.

“The child told us she didn’t know the woman at all, that she wasn’t her mother.”

Detention and charges

The French woman was arrested and, after being presented to a judge, placed in pre-trial detention. Investigators are examining several possible offences, human trafficking, document forgery, forced marriage, and because the victim is a minor, child abduction. Lawyer Patrícia Santos Ferreira told SIC Notícias that financial flows associated with the scheme could open a money-laundering investigation. Former Judicial Police chief inspector César Afonso observed that such cases are difficult to catch because traffickers prepare both false documents and cover stories.

“From human trafficking, document forgery, misuse of documents, forced marriage, and because the child is 12 years old, we can also be talking about child abduction.”

Shelter and safety

The child was taken to a Lisbon shelter run by Akto, which cares for young victims of trafficking. She joined nine other residents; the youngest is four and the oldest nineteen. Project coordinator Ana Rita Brito said the girl arrived calm. She expressed fear of returning to her home country or to her parents, believing she would be sold again.

“The priority was to safeguard her well-being and her protection.”

Portuguese authorities are now assessing the risk to decide whether returning her would be safe. The subcommissioner stressed that if the parents are involved, sending her back could place her in the traffickers’ circuit once more. Specialized multidisciplinary teams continue to provide support.

Border control and trafficking trends

Ana Rita Brito noted that most Akto referrals come from the airport. The PSP acknowledged a rise in detections at ports of entry, though the subcommissioner cautioned that better detection may account for the increase rather than a surge in crime itself. The forged passport had been accepted at Dakar departure control, highlighting the gap between Schengen-area checks and those at non-EU departure points.

“These are not easy cases to detect, because these trips are prepared. A story is fabricated, both in terms of documents and personal history.”