Undercover cop frees 18-yr-old from prostitution ring in Dubai

A worker, who allegedly exploited an 18-year-old girl in prostitution, was charged with human trafficking at a Dubai court on Wednesday.

The Court of First Instance heard how the 44-year-old Bangladeshi man would take the girl, also a Bangladeshi, from one flat to another to make her meet men.

The defendant denied in court human trafficking, prostitution facilitation and rape charges.

He is accused of raping the victim and running, together with a runaway Chinese female accomplice, a flat as a brothel. He would collect Dh100 from every man who would come there for paid sex.

The police raided the flat located in Al Qusais, on September 23 last year.

During the public prosecution investigation, the victim said that the defendant had brought her on a visit visa in February 2018. He made her work in prostitution. "I took the job as I was in desperate need of money. I told him that I was 17 then. He changed my age to 25 on my passport," she told the prosecutor.

The defendant received her at the airport and took the girl to a flat where he raped her. "He then told me I am ready to start work and made me meet about 4 to 5 men a day. He used to send Dh1,500 per month to my mother back home," she claimed, adding that he had sex with her repeatedly ever since. "He used to run the prostitution racket for me and other women," the victim testified.

Three women, charged in the case with prostitution, confessed they worked for the defendant. They used to be paid Dh150 a time, which they would split with the Chinese woman. The women said that the defendant knew the victim's age when he brought her here.

A police lieutenant said they raided the flat in Al Qusais after being tipped off that an 18-year-old girl was being exploited in prostitution. "We sent an undercover officer there. He was given a 'token number as a customer'."

The undercover cop, who carried Dh200 belonging to the police, pretended he was interested in the minor. Once the money was paid and the cop was given the girl, he signalled to the police task force for raid. The girl was then freed and the suspects arrested.

The flat was partitioned into three rooms and a living room. There was a small camera fixed on the door, which was locked. It covered the outside entrance. "The victim told us she learned from her cousin about the job. She said she shouldered the responsibility to provide for her mother and younger siblings. The defendant managed to get her to travel after changing her real age on her passport," the lieutenant told the prosecution investigator.

The trial continues on February 20.

mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai

Marie Nammour

mary@khaleejtimes.com