Wednesday, March 18, 2009

European people trafficking trial goes ahead in the Netherlands

FOLLOWING an international investigation involving gardaí, 11 people accused of forcing up to 150 young Nigerian girls into prostitution in Europe have gone on trial in the Netherlands.

The traffickers, mainly Nigerian, are accused of bringing the girls into the Netherlands as asylum seekers with false identity papers and instructions for an application in 2007.

The girls would then disappear from the asylum system only to reappear in other European countries.

In 2008, a Nigerian girl suspected of being trafficked into Ireland and forced to work as a prostitute was brought to the attention of gardaí and other state agencies in Kilkenny.

Kilkenny District Court was told the 17-year-old had spoken with members of Ruhama, an organisation that works with prostitutes and trafficking victims, and that gardaí had received documentation from the Nigerian embassy, which had spoken with the minor. The Health Service Executive was asked to intervene, but the girl disappeared.

In another case, an RTÉ reporter found a Nigerian girl who had been trafficked via London and Belfast to be placed in brothels and apartments here. She was expected to give her share of the money to the man who brought her over and the rest to the agency owner.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/idqlauidkf/

No comments: