Dubai: Four underage Bangladeshi girls forced into prostitution were rescued from a Deira nightclub by Dubai Police, a court heard on Tuesday.
The victims aged between 16 and 17 were brought into the country last year to work as dancers and prostitutes at a nightclub in Al Muraqabbat.
In March of this year, police were alerted to a teenager working as a dancer in a hotel nightclub who looked underage.
Police raided the nightclub and found 19 women and five defendants. The defendants were aged between 20 to 39.
“All the women were working as dancers and prostitutes,” said a police officer. “Four of them were under the age of 18.
“We raided the place and rescued the victims who were referred to a Women and Children’s Shelter in Dubai.
“The defendants brought the victims using passports with an older age to enter the country,” added the officer.
One 17-year-old victim said she agreed to come to Dubai to help support her family at home.
She said that a man arranged her passport and paid her money to arrive in the country before she was taken to a house with other girls.
“I agreed to work as a dancer because my family is poor and needed money,” the victim said.
“Four days after arriving in the country, they took us to the nightclub and told us that we will work as dancers. They asked me to have illegal affairs with three customers per month,” she said, confirming that the manager of the nightclub was the one running the operation.
The victims were brought into the country at different times last year.
Five defendants were charged with human trafficking. They denied the charges in court. The trial will resume on June 18 to hear the witnesses.
