The Indian authorities have managed to secure the release of 17 Indian citizens who had been detained by the “mafia’ in Libya since February this year, the Indian Embassy in Tunis said in a statement on Monday.
“The Indian nationals arrived in Libya after being duped by travel agents under the pretext of lucrative jobs in Italy and were detained by the mafia in Libya,” it said.
The embassy added that these citizens belonged to the states of Punjab and Haryana.
Situation of Indian Citizens in Libya
According to Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), around 3,000 Indians are working in Libya, most of them engaged in blue-collar jobs.
The number of Indians in the African nation stood at over 18,000 before the Libyan Revolution in 2011, the Indian authorities say.
The embassy in Tunis has been overseeing the affairs the Indian mission in Tripoli since 2019.
In May, India also negotiated the release of nine Indian sailors who had been detained by a local militia after their vessel reportedly broke down near the Libyan coast.
Last February, 27 Indians were evacuated from the country with the help of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), according to an official document.