Food vendor remanded for human trafficking

An Accra Circuit Court has remanded a food vendor, Anita Brown, over alleged involvement in human trafficking of victims from Nigeria to Ghana.

The plea of the suspect was not taken and she will make her next appearance in court tomorrow.

Meanwhile, two accomplices, named Divine and Goodness are now at large.

Police Sergeant Opoku Aniagyei told the court presided over by Mrs Rita Abrokwa Doko that Precious Chigozie, 19, and Blessing Enoch, 21, both students, are the complainants in the case.

He said the accused as well as the complainants are all Nigerians residing at the Liberia Camp, a suburb of Kasoa, in the Central Region.

Sgt Aniagyei said earlier this month, Brown through her friend, one Mama Benedicta, who lives in Nigeria, recruited the victims under the pretext of employing them at her boutique in Ghana.

Prosecution said investigations revealed that the accused paid the Naira equivalent of GH¢200.00 to the said Mama to transport the victims from the River State to Lagos, Nigeria, then to Accra.

He said when the victims arrived in Lagos, Brown directed them to a driver to be transported to Accra, and when they arrived in Ghana on June 11, 2019, the accused met them at the Tudu lorry station.

Sgt Aniagyei said she paid GH¢600.00 to the driver and took the victims to the Liberia camp where she lives.

The court heard that at her residence, Brown made the women swore on a Bible, knife and two eggs to be initiated into prostitution, instead of working at the so-called boutique.

Sgt Aniagyei said the accused was assisted by two other Nigerian female friends only named as Divine and Goodness, who were now on the run, to carry out the swearing.

Prosecution said the accused demanded that Precious and Blessing worked as prostitutes to pay her GH¢3,000.00 each for their transportation before they could gain their freedom, but the victims disagreed with Brown and decided to pay her GH¢150.00 a week.

Sgt Aniagyei said after a few days, the victims realizing how difficult the work was, decided to quit, but the accused asked them to pay the transportation fare from Nigeria to Ghana.

The prosecution said this led to a scuffle between them, and the victims reported the case to the Kasoa Police, leading to Brown/s arrest.

He said the matter was referred to the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department’s, Headquarters, for further investigations.

Sergeant Aniagyei said the victims were assisting in investigations. – GNA