Dubai: Three workers and a woman have been accused of running a brothel and sexually exploiting two underage girls by forcing them into prostitution.

A 17-year-old Pakistani girl was said to have been convinced by her 24-year-old countrywoman to fly in to Dubai to work in prostitution in a flat at Al Baraha area.

Once the girl landed at the airport, the older woman picked her up and accompanied her to a flat, according to records, where there was another Pakistani teenaged girl in January.

The two girls were believed to have willingly worked in prostitution for their three countrymen workers, aged 21, 29 and 32, who happened to be running the flat in Al Baraha as a prostitution den.

Dubai Police’s human trafficking department were alerted by an informant that the Pakistani men had been sexually exploiting teenage girls and making them work as prostitutes in the flat.

A police informant posed as a client and visited the flat as part of a sting operation.

Shortly after the informant entered the flat, the police raided the place and arrested the three workers and a 25-year-old Pakistani, who happened to be having sex with the woman.

The four Pakistani men were taken into custody while the 24-year-old Pakistani woman suspect remains at large.

Prosecutors charged the Pakistani trio and the 24-year-old absconding woman of sexually exploiting two teenagers and making them work in prostitution. They were also accused of running a brothel.

The 25-year-old suspect was accused of having consensual sex with the absconder.

The four suspects pleaded not guilty when they appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.

The 17-year-old girl told the prosecution that the countrywoman convinced her to come to Dubai and work in prostitution.

“The absconder is my friend and I knew her from home. She knew that I had been working in prostitution in Pakistan and she convinced me to come and do the same in Dubai. I told my parents that I would be working as a saleswoman so that they allowed me to travel to Dubai. Once I arrived, she picked me up and took me to the flat. She told me that I would be working for the three Pakistani men suspects who were running the brothel. There was another girl in the flat … we used to get 10 clients per day. We used to charge each client Dh100 for sex. Later on, the 24-year-old woman suspect flew to Pakistan and she never returned. The 32-year-old suspect used to register in the books the number of clients and the proceeds. The 29-year-old suspect was the one who had rented the flat,” she testified to prosecutors.

A lieutenant from the police’s human trafficking section told the prosecutors that they raided the flat and apprehended the suspects in a sting operation.

“The informant alerted us that the suspects had been making teenagers work in prostitution … that is considered a human trafficking crime. We obtained prosecutors’ permission, raided the flat and apprehended the culprits,” he testified to prosecutors.

The trial continues.