By DEBORAH AKPEDE

Operatives at the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos, have detained members of a syndicate for allegedly trafficking girls from Nigeria to Mauritania for prostitution and sexual exploitation.

The Zonal Public Relations Officer (ZPRO), CSP Umma Ayuba, confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos.

She said the syndicate was apprehended on March 22 at the Command in the Meiran area of the state.

“Operatives of the Zonal Intelligence Response Squad (ZIRS), led by SP Francis Kpoughul, stormed their base where two suspects were apprehended,” Ayuba said.

The ZPRO stated that the suspects confessed to the crime.

“The first suspect said she was introduced to a woman based in Mauritania by another woman, who has been prosecuted for the same offence and is currently serving a jail term.

“She said the woman in Mauritania contracted her to recruit young girls below the age of 22 to be used as sex workers there.

“She added that she received ?50,000 as commission for each girl sent to Mauritania.

“She confessed that, among the girls she recruited, was her 19-year-old daughter. She also admitted to receiving over N500,000 from the woman in Mauritania,” Ayuba said.

The ZPRO stated that her accomplice, the second suspect, admitted being contracted by the first suspect to recruit girls as domestic staff in Mauritania.

“She said that, upon further questioning, she discovered the girls were to be used as sex workers and decided to withdraw from the business.

“She added that the only girl she sent to the first suspect was rejected due to her age and body size. That was when she realised something was wrong,” Ayuba said.

According to the ZPRO, the investigation is ongoing, and the suspects will be charged to court upon completion. (NAN)