Delta State Police Command has rescued 23 teenagers lured into prostitution by a human trafficking syndicate from a hotel in Ughelli, Delta State.
The command’s spokesperson, Superintendent of Police (SP) Bright Edafe said in a statement yesterday that the rescue effort followed a tip-off on the activities of the prime suspect identified simply as Chinyere and currently at large.
Edafe said Chinyere specialises in trafficking women from the South East to Delta State for prostitution, adding that the suspect lures the women by deceiving them with job offers as sales girls.
He said the operatives located one of the victims who revealed the illegal activities of the prime suspect.
According to Edafe, the victim, who hails from Abia State, said Chinyere deceived her parents that she would be employed as a sales girl in a bar with a salary of N30,000 monthly.
Edafe, quoting the victim, said when the victim got to Ugheli in the company of two other girls, she saw several nude girls and was informed about the nature of the job, which she rejected and was consequently thrown out of the hotel.
He said police operatives stormed Big Dafe Hotel by Ughelli/Patani Road and arrested a 36-year-old woman, a native of Umuogbezea community in Imo State, Chioma, who runs the hotel.
The statement said Chioma was arrested alongside 35 others among which 23 are teenagers.
Part of the statement reads: “On 15/7/2024, acting on credible information received by the Command on the activities of one Chinyere (surname unknown) who specialises in trafficking women from the East and bringing them to Ughelli, Delta State for prostitution.
“Intelligence further revealed that she lures them by telling them that they are coming to Delta State to work as sales girls in a restaurant.
“The Commissioner of Police Delta State (CP) Abaniwonda Olufemi, who has zero tolerance for human/child trafficking, detailed the DPO Ekpan, CSP Aliyu Shaba, to immediately work on the gathered intelligence and ensure that the hotel is located and the suspect arrested.
“Consequently, on 15/07/2024, at about 1900hrs, one of the victims (name withheld) was located and she revealed the illegal activities of the said suspect, Chinyere ‘f’ surname unknown, currently at large.
“She further stated that the suspect deceived her parents to take her (victim) down to Delta State from Abia State to be a sales girl in a bar with a salary of N30,000 monthly.
“However, on 12/07/2024, she and two other young girls followed the suspect down to a town she later understood to be Ughelli. But on getting to their final destination, they saw other teenagers.
“They were naked and were informed that it was prostitution they were brought for, which they declined and as a result, they were immediately thrown out of the hotel”.
