The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder has arrested three suspected human traffickers and rescued 50 victims during a string operation in Diobu, area of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Navy in collaboration with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) had the joint team raid two brothels, Royal and Cool Breeze both located on Azikiwe Road, Diobu area of the state.
The raid led to the rescue of 50 victims including underaged persons, camped in the brothels for sex trafficking.
Parading the suspects at the military base, the Information Officer of the base, Lieutenant Commander Rasheed Iginla, said efforts are ongoing to track and arrest the real traffickers.
Iginla noted that on completion of profiling, the suspects and victims will be handed over to NAPTIP for further investigation and prosecution.
According to him, “The intelligence actually came from NAPTIP, they have been tracking this particular brothel that camps children or juveniles, and some of them are 14 years old.
“So, when they brought the intelligence in conjunction with NSCDC, a team was set up and we went into action and interestingly you can see for yourself the number of people that were brought out of the hotel. Sadly, some of the victims are as young as 14 years old.”
Iginla advised parents and caregivers to take the welfare and responsibility of parenting their children and wards more seriously while assuring that the Nigerian Navy will work in synergy with relevant agencies to bring perpetrators to justice.
