ABU DHABI // There was the recruiter in Morocco, the kingpins in the UAE who oversaw the logistics, and handlers to control the women. Then there were the women, all lured here in the hopes of a good job only to find themselves enslaved in a seedy underworld of prostitution.
That, according to new testimony released by prosecutors in court yesterday, was how the biggest human trafficking ring to be broken in Abu Dhabi allegedly operated.
For years, authorities have struggled to track and break networks such as this one, and the case of 13 women allegedly forced into prostitution in Abu Dhabi has provided a rare glimpse into this underworld.
The women's testimony has formed the backbone of the trial.
In their statements, the women offered vivid descriptions of how they were lured to the UAE on the promise of high salaries and career opportunities.
Only after they arrived in the UAE, put under lock-and-key, beaten and forced to sell their bodies, they said, did the full horror of their situation become clear.
One recounted how she arrived in Abu Dhabi four months ago expecting to find a person holding a sign with her name on it. Instead, she met a Syrian man who picked her out of the crowd and greeted her. The man told her he was the person who had arranged a job for her as a hotel receptionist and had paid more than Dh15,000 (US$4,000) to bring her to the country.
He said he needed her passport and identity documents to make copies. She handed them over.
When the woman arrived at her new home in the Tourist Club area, she encountered several frightened Moroccan women. Then a second man took her to another room and told her that she would be forced to work as a prostitute until the Dh15,000 was paid off.
In a highly unusual move, a public prosecutor spoke in court against the defendants, claiming they "violated human rights laws, defamed the country's reputation, and trafficked women - enslaving them for money".
"The women were brought over from Morocco under false pretences," he told the court.
In the UAE, public prosecutors do not normally speak in court but rather submit their evidence in written form.
The trafficking operation allegedly involved a recruiter in Morocco, kingpins in the UAE who oversaw the logistics, handlers who controlled the women, a network of clients based on referrals and drivers who chauffeured the women to those clients.
One defendant told the court: "If they had mobile phones, they could have called their families. Surely, they would have seen a police car or an advertisement for the 999 police number."
The women previously testified they were intimidated and led to believe their captors were powerful and well-connected to the police and other authorities.
Lawyers for the defendants claim the women came knowingly to Abu Dhabi to work as prostitutes.
Some of the defendants deny the charges of operating a human trafficking ring, but have pleaded guilty to assisting and facilitating prostitution.
The case is the latest to be tried under federal anti-trafficking legislation introduced in 2006 that specifies sentences of life imprisonment and fines of up to Dh1 million.
"This case shows the increase in awareness and all of the things we have managed to do over the past three years [since the introduction of anti-trafficking laws]," said Dr Saeed al Ghufli, the co-ordinator for the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking.
"The existence of shelters and the work of the police have played an effective role in making this case reach the court."
It remains unclear how many women are lured to the UAE each year to work in the sex trade. The number of trafficking cases brought before UAE courts increased last year to 36 from 20 in 2008.
The trial was adjourned until January 17, when a verdict will be rendered.
* The National
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
The specs: McLaren 600LT
Price, base: Dh914,000
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 600hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 620Nm @ 5,500rpm
Fuel economy 12.2.L / 100km
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
