Cops rescue teens in sex trade bust

Dubai Police said on Thursday that they have cracked a European human trafficking ring who were luring teenagers and young women to Dubai to work in the sex industry.

The Head of the Criminal Investigation Department, Brigadier Khaleel Ibrahim Al Mansouri, said the gang included four European women who were luring women and minors from Europe, telling them they would get jobs as dancers in nightclubs in the UAE.

“They were deceiving them by promising them work in fancy hotels with huge salaries and a private driver. When they arrived, they were just made to work as prostitutes,” he said.

Brigadier Salem Khalifa Al Rumaithi, also from CID, said that the force received information about a 22-year-old Moldovan woman who was being kept at a hotel in Deira.

“Her passport had been taken away by the women and they were moving her from place to place to prevent her identifying her location and asking for help,” he said.

Police raided the location and rescued the woman and arrested the suspects.

“One of them was specialized in looking for beautiful minors and bringing them to the country and selling them and then leaving the country. She sold the last victim for Dhs40,000 and we found Dhs300,000 with her when we arrested her after one day,” Al Rumaithi added.

Police managed to locate a number of other brothels linked to the ring.

“These brothels had security cameras inside and outside the flats,” said Al Rumaithi.

The women have been referred to Dubai Public Prosecution and Dubai Police said it was coordinating with Interpol to arrest further members of the gang in Eastern Europe.