Twenty sex workers arrested as MCE clamps down on brothels

About 20 Commercial Sex Workers have been arrested at Bula Spot, a notorious brothel in the New Juaben South Municipality of the Eastern Region.

The arrest follows the Municipal Chief Executive, Isaac Appau-Gyasi’s, decision to close down all brothel centres being operated in the Municipality.

Operating a brothel now seems to be a booming venture in both New Juaben North and South Municipalities. Many Drinking Bars and some landlords have therefore constructed cubicles and rooms renting out to commercial sex workers to solicit sex for money.

Bula Spot,Total Two, Evelyn spot, Railways bar , Omama Spot are a few of the places known for commercial sex activities where prostitutes including young girls from the municipality and other parts of the country mostly operate.

Bula Spot, for instance, has about 35 cubicles used for commercial sex activities.

The MCE for New Juaben ,Isaac Appau Gyasi has ordered operators of the brothels to demolish their structures by close of Monday or risk forceful demolishing.

The Koforidua Circuit Court “B” presided over by Her Honour Mercy Adei-Kotei last Tuesday jailed two Nigerian sex traffickers operating in Asokore in the New Juaben North Municipality.

The convicts, Gloria John and Rita Oba were found guilty of conspiracy to commit a crime of trafficking, human trafficking and use of trafficked victims. They have been slapped with a 5-year jail term each to run concurrently. The Court also ordered for their deportation after serving their sentences.

The facts of the case are that the victims, Perpetual and Maurine both 19 and 20 years of age respectively are siblings and unemployed Secondary School graduates who hail from Urobo in the Delta State of Nigeria while the convicts are commercial sex workers.

In August 2018, Gloria, a relative of the victims conspired with Rita and managed to traffic them to Ghana under the pretence of employing them in her shop.

On arrival in Ghana, the convicts, however, recruited the victims into prostitution with a mutual agreement that Gloria will manage Perpetual and collect her proceeds whilst Rita also manages Maurine and collect her proceeds.

The victims who were reluctant to engage in the illicit business were asked by their traffickers to pay GH¢50,000 each to gain their freedom.

The convicts accommodated the victims at Omama Spot, a brothel in Asokere in the New Juaben North Municipality where they were given orientations on how to be seductive in order to attract customers.

The victims operated at Total 2 and B-Foster areas in Koforidua township and in nine days they were forced to sleep with 13 men charging between GH¢10 to GH¢30.

Detective Sergent Emmanuel Agbodzi, the CID officer, who investigated the case told the court that a total amount of GH¢1, 367 were actualized from the nine-day of operations.

The victims, according to Sergent Agbodzi on September 2 reported their ordeal to the Effiduase Police station leading to the arrest of the convicts.

Meanwhile, the victims have been sheltered at an Orphanage Home in the region while efforts are being made to get assistance from the Nigeria High Commission in Ghana to repatriate them to their family.