Danish police on thursday morning arrested 56 illegal immigrants from Ghana who were thought to be engaging in prostitution in the capital Copenhagen. The ladies were all rounded up in swoop of Istedgage, Vesterbro district of the city together with 31 Nigerians.
20 other suspects fled the scene and evaded capture during the raid. Those caught were charged with holding false residence permits, working without permit and vagrancy. The women will be counseled by social workers, trained in dealing with trafficking victims while their immigration statuses are verified. They are scheduled to appear in court over the next few days.
There has been an increase in African prostitutes in the city. The legality of prostitution in the country has become a favourable destination for immigrant prostitutes that Kjeld Farcinsen of the Copenhagen Police decscribed as “increasingly aggressive.”
“When our undercover officers approach them, the women made no attempt to hide the fact that they are offering sex for money,” Farcinsen told Politiken newspaper.
Farcinsen went on to say that the city’s police will be conducting more night raids in the coming weeks in hopes of catching more illegal prostitutes. Prostitution is legal in Denmark and carefully monitored but non-residents are not allowed to engage in the profession. Nigerians and Ghanaians form the largest contingent of Africans working in the trade. They make up to 67% of all prostitutes in Denmark
