Operatives from Anambra State Police Command have burst a hotel in Awka where girls aged between 17 and 23 were being used as sex slaves.
A release by the Police Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, said the operation, which followed a credible tip-off from the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, also led to the arrest of the proprietor of the hotel.
According to the statement, the girls, some teenagers, were brought to Anambra with assurances that they would be gainfully employed.
It reads in part, “Interrogations/confessions of the rescued girls revealed that the respective persons that brought them to the brothel lured/enticed them on the assurances of giving them jobs to alleviate poverty/needs of their parents and dependents.
"They further confessed to being taken from Ebonyi, Enugu, Akwa-Ibom, and Rivers States."
The statement assured that the police, in collaboration with the ministry, would ensure that the girls are cared for and safely returned to their parents.
While condemning the act, the statement urges well-meaning citizens not to starve the police with credible information about such places as a joint operation to weed them out had commenced.
It adds that the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for a comprehensive investigation.
