Muscat: Authorities in Oman have busted a human trafficking ring. A large group of suspects were arrested in a raid, a senior police official has said.
Lieutenant-General Malek Bin Sulaiman Al Ma'amari, Inspector General of Police and Customs, said the suspects would be soon hauled before the courts.
He was speaking after the second meeting of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking at the Royal Oman Police (ROP) headquarters.
Two cases have been dealt with by Omani courts since the formation of the committee. The verdict in two other cases is pending.
"Those convicted in the first case have been [sentenced to] seven years in prison and a fine of 10,000 Omani riyals (Dh95,402)," he said.
The convicts were part of an international gang of traffickers who carried out their activities in Oman then moved to Bahrain, the committee's official website revealed.
The traffickers exploited 13 girls of different Arabian nationalities using Oman as transit point.
The girls were put up in Oman for a short period before being moved to Bahrain where they were forced to perform ‘indecent acts'.
