The Anambra State Police command has rescued nine girls, aged between 15 and 25 years, being used as sex slaves in a hotel in Awka and arrested the proprietor of the hotel.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr Tochukwu Ikenga said the action of the police followed information received from Anambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare about the happening in the said hotel.

Ikenga said confessions of the rescued girls revealed that the people that brought them to the brothel assured them of giving them jobs to alleviate their poverty and the needs of their parents and other dependents.

“The girls further confessed to  have brought from Ebonyi, Enugu, Akwa-Ibom, and Rivers states. Also, the Police command is in collaboration with the Anambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare to ensure that the girls are taken care of and safely returned to their parents/guardians”, Ikenga said.

According to him, the command vehemently condemns the act and frowns at persons who take advantage of vulnerable individuals to make money, describing such brothels  as a dens where criminals take refuge.

“We urge the good people of Anambra to continue to provide the police with information about such places as the joint operations to weed such places of bad people has commenced. Be assured that all information passed to the police shall be treated with utmost confidentiality, ” he added.

He said the case has since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, for comprehensive investigation, adding that the suspects would soon be charged to court.