Court remands food vendor over human trafficking

An Accra Circuit Court has remanded a food vendor over her alleged involvement in human trafficking.

The plea of Anita Brown was not taken and she will make her next appearance on July 2.

Meanwhile, her two accomplices named as 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 are both students and the complainants in the case.

He said the accused person, a food vendor as well as the complainants are all Nigerians and reside at the Liberia Camp, a suburb of Kasoa in the Central Region.

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

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

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

Sergeant Aniagyei said she paid GH?600.00 to the driver and sent the young ladies to the Liberia camp where she lives.

He said at her residence, she made the ladies swore nakedly on a bible, knife and two eggs to be initiated into prostitution instead of working in the so-called boutique.

He said the accused was assisted by her two other Nigerian female friends only named as Divine and Goodness, currently at large.

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 can gain their freedom but they disagreed with her and decided to pay her GH?150.00 a week.

He said after some few days, the victims realized how difficult the work entails and decided to quit but the accused person demanded that they pay her the transportation fees from Nigeria to Ghana.

The prosecution said this led to a scuffle between them and the victims reported the issue to the Kasoa Police, leading to her 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 are now being kept to assist investigations.