Dubai gang jailed for luring mother of three into prostitution then trying to sell her for Dh5,500

Offenders caught out after undercover police crack human trafficking case

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A gang of human traffickers who lured a mother of three into prostitution before trying to sell her for Dh5,500 have been jailed for a total of 20 years.

The Indonesian victim was lured to Dubai with the promise of a new job - only to be pressured into working in a brothel and put up for sale, a court heard.

She was only rescued when police receive received a tip-off about the trade and posed as potential buyers.

The 41-year-old victim was working as a housemaid in Abu Dhabi when she called a compatriot, who she had been put in touch with before moving to the country, asking if she could help her find a new job after she grew tired of her role.

The woman had arrived in the UAE in the middle of 2017 and called on the countrywoman, living in Al Ain, some six months later.

The woman convinced her to leave the Emirati family and take up an unspecified job in Dubai.

The maid absconded in January this year and took a bus to Dubai where she was met by a Bangladeshi man who took her to a flat in Al Muraqqabat.
"But I didn't know what the job was nor did I expect it would be in prostitution," the housemaid said.
She said that at the flat, she spent two days before a woman told her that she would start working in prostitution and when she refused she was pressured into selling her body.

She worked as a prostitute for 13 days before she was rescued by police after being offered for sale.
Police said they received a tip off about a woman being offered for sale in return for Dh5,500 after which an undercover policeman posed as a buyer.
"We arrested the four men involved on February 5 at nearly midnight," said an Emirati policeman, 26.
The woman was referred to Dubai Foundation for Women and Children.
During police questioning, the suspects said that they worked with another woman - whose nationality and age were not disclosed in records - who lures women to their apartment to work in prostitution.
Two of the Bangladeshi defendants, aged 25 and 28, were charged with a human trafficking.
The other two, aged 31 and 36, were charged with aiding and abetting.
All four were charged with running a brothel and facilitating prostitution and denied all charges in court. However, they were all convicted of all charges and were sentenced to five years in prison each and jointly fined Dh100,000.
The court ordered the shutdown of the apartment and the confiscation of the men's car. They will be deported after serving their terms.
The sentence can be appealed in two weeks.