Five years in jail for brothel manager who lured compatriots to UAE

DUBAI // A woman who trafficked five of her compatriots and forced them to work as prostitutes was today sentenced to five years in prison.

J S, 39, managed a Filipino gang that lured women to Dubai by offering them jobs as waitresses and saleswomen, but instead kidnapped them on arrival and forced them into prostitution.

Five women were taken to a brothel in a flat in Al Muraqqabat and told they would have to prostitute themselves in hotels. But they made a pact that if any of them could escape they would contact police. "I agreed with the girls that any one of us who could escape ... should head to the police," said one of the women, who was lured to Dubai after being befriended on Facebook.

On the same day as the pact was made, one of the other women managed to escape from a hotel and led officers to the brothel.

Police arrested four women and one man – J S, 39, M L, 36, D J, 24, J K, 26, and P A, 23. They were all charged with human trafficking, which they all denied. M L, D J and J K were also charged with working in prostitution, which they admitted, while J S and M L were charged with running a brothel, which they denied.

J S was sentenced to five years in jail while M L, D J, J K, and P A received three-year terms.

All five will be deported after completing their sentences.

salamir@thenational.ae