WhatsApp saves women from prostitution in Dubai

Dubai - The case was reported to Al Barsha police on July 19, last year.

A WhatsApp message led to the arrest of a prostitution ring in Dubai, according to the Dubai Police.
The prostitution ring involved a Bangladeshi security guard and other unknown persons. The 27-year-old guard was charged with human trafficking on Tuesday in the Court of First Instance for allegedly luring two Kyrgyz women to travel to Dubai, offering them jobs as maids and then forcing them into prostitution.
The message was sent by one of the women to her brother in her home country which helped the police bust the prostitution ring.
The guard and his accomplices picked up the two victims from the Dubai International Airport and then took them to a building in Tecom, where the victims were intimidated to have sex with men for money.
Two other Kyrgyz women were charged with working willingly in prostitution. The guard is also accused of running his flat as a prostitution den.
The case was reported to Al Barsha police on July 19, last year.
A police corporal told the public prosecution investigation: "We went to the flat on the day the complaint was filed. A man and a woman were at the door of the flat and they told us that they were working for Kyrgyzstan consulate."
"The two consulate employees told us that they were contacted by relatives of two Kyrgyz women who had arrived in Dubai a few days earlier and were held up against their will in a flat and forced to work as prostitutes."
The corporal and other police officers entered the place and found the guard sitting at a reception table near the door. The women were there and the flat was divided by curtains into partitions which suggested prostitution.
"We also spotted a surveillance camera hidden in a light outside the flat. The monitoring screen was placed at the guard's table. He claimed that the flat was run for massage business and that his role was to welcome customers," the corporal added.
The guard told the police that the two females were willingly working as masseuses. Later, to the investigators, the guard admitted that the flat was being run as a prostitution den by an accomplice and that his job was receiving customers and collecting the money.
One of the victims told the prosecutors that when they arrived at the airport they were taken to a flat.
"Four men who came to take our bags threatened us not to scream. We were surprised to see the massage flat. A customer came and we were told to stand up so he could pick a woman. He chose my friend but she refused to go inside with him and cried."
The other victim said: "I sent a WhatsApp message to my brother in my home country seeking help. He contacted the consulate here."
The trial has been adjourned to February 7.
 
mary@khaleejtimes.com  

• Dubai