India-based Nigerian woman arrested for traff!cking teenage girls for pr#st!tution
The joint operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the New Delhi Police, has arrested a notorious foreign-based alleged human trafficker, Joy Shandy Okah in a deliberate operation targeting big-time traffickers outside Nigeria.
The successful operation also led to the rescue of three Nigerian victims of forced pr#st!tution in New Delhi, India. Explaining how the operation was coordinated, the Head of the International and Intelligence Cooperation Unit of NAPTIP, Mrs Angela Agbayekhai, said, “On December 12, 2021, NAPTIP received an SOS via email from a 17-year-old girl who was deceitfully trafficked from Nigeria for forced pr#st!tution in India.
She requested the intervention of the NAPTIP for her rescue and that of other Nigerian victims held captive and forced into the s#x trade by one Joy Shandy Okah, a Nigerian based in India.
NAPTIP networked with the Indian based NGO Vihaan-WMS through intelligence sharing, which resulted in the rescue of the three victims and arrest of their trafficker on at New Krishna Park near Well Pharmacy Vikaspuri, New Delhi – India.
The victims were recruited from Edo, Delta and Rivers States, Nigeria and trafficked to India for s*xual exploitation by Joy and her accomplices. One of the victims travelled from Nigeria on September 17, 2021, while the other two arrived in India from Nigeria on December 14, 2021.
The victims were subjected to oath r!tuals in Nigeria before their eventual travel. The victims travelled with questionable Passports and Student Visas. They were eventually held captive in New Delhi by their trafficker, Joy. Their phones and travel documents were seized and they were forced into pr#st!tution to pay up a debt of N4.5m each until their rescue on January 6, 2022.
Joy is currently facing trial in an Indian Court since 7th January 2022 after her arrest and the victims who are currently in a safe house linked to Vihaan-WMS and assisting the authorities in this regard.”
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