The Trump administration secretly deported nine people to Cameroon, despite many of them having U.S. court protections against such action and none of them hailing from that African nation, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

Several of the men and women sent to Cameroon on a January 14 flight from Alexandria, Louisiana, did not know their destination until they were put on a Department of Homeland Security flight and placed in handcuffs and chains, the newspaper said, citing government documents and attorneys for the deportees.

DHS, the State Department and Cameroon's Ministry of External Affairs did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Reuters could not immediately reach attorneys representing the detainees.

The administration of President Donald Trump has not announced any deal under which Cameroon agreed to accept deportees from other nations.