Jail terms of 6 human trafficking convicts increased

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Court of Appeal ruled that the jail term of 4 out of 6 members of an Asian gang be increased from 7 years to 10 years as ruled by the Court of First Instance, to be followed by deportation after being convicted of human trafficking and exploitation of a minor girl.

It also ruled that the jail term of the other two be increased from 3 to 7 years.

The case dates back to January 2019 when Dubai Police received a tip-off that a minor girl was kept inside an apartment and exploited in immoral acts.

A policeman stated in the investigations that a team of detectives set a trap, where he played the role of a client and was able to enter the apartment.  There, he was received by a man and was offered 4 girls.

The policeman chose the victim, because she was the youngest and handed the agreed amount over to the suspect.

After entering a room with the victim, the policeman gave the agreed signal to the team, which raided the apartment and arrested the suspect and other members of the gang.

The victim stated in the investigations that a woman, whom she met in her home country, offered her to work in the UAE as a maid.

The girl had told the woman that she was only 15 years old. Following repeated attempts to persuade her to accept the offer, the girl agreed.

She was then contacted by another person, who took out a passport and a visa for her.

Upon arrival, a person received her at the airport and took her to an apartment, where she was forced to work in immoral acts. When the girl refused, the gang members assaulted her and forced her into such acts with them and with other people whom she did not know.

On interrogation, the suspects confessed to their crime.

Separately, the Dubai Criminal Court heard a case in which an African visitor, 43, was accused of importing 1.6 kilogrammes of marijuana inside a sesame bag. The case dates back to January when a customs inspector at Dubai Airports suspected a plastic bag inside the suitcase of a visitor. According to the inspector’s testimony, he asked the suspect if he had any prohibited items in his possession but the latter denied. When his suitcase was searched, a bag containing sesame was found with three rolls of a material suspected to be drugs. Two more rolls of the same substance were also found later on.

The seized items were transferred to the forensic lab, where they turned out to be marijuana.

The court ordered the suspect to be remanded in custody pending prosecution.