A man alleged to be part of a syndicate that kidnaps women and forces them into prostitution for profit has been arraigned.
The accused, whose name was given only as Emma, is said to be part of a gang which included Samuel Udeotuk -Willis, the prime suspect in the kidnap and murder of three girls in Takoradi.
Last Monday, he was arraigned before the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Georgina Mensah-Datsa, on a charge of human trafficking.
Other accused persons
In view of the new development, the prosecution will amend the charge sheet to include two others who have already been arraigned before another High Court.
The prosecutor, Ms Lily Atutigah, an Assistant State Attorney, yesterday prayed the court, presided over by Justice George Buadi, to adjourn the case to enable the prosecution to amend the charge sheet for all the accused persons to be tried before one court.
The court adjourned the case to November 11, 2019.
The two other accused persons are Robert Nana Kwame Hayford, aka Fire, and Nii Oblitey Commey, aka Awudome.
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Other members of the gang who are currently at large are Chief Bello, the alleged leader of the gang; Chief Clara Kissi and one Budu.
Although Udeotuk-Wills, who is currently serving a 36-month jail term for escaping from police custody in relation to the Takoradi kidnap case, is on the charge sheet, he is yet to be arraigned.
Forced prostitution
The facts of the case as presented by the prosecutor were that the syndicate operated by luring women to a house in Tema, where they were kept and prevented from leaving, and also forced to sleep with men.
She said in July 2016, Kissi lured the complainant (name withheld) in the case and two other women to the place at Tema Community 9.
Kissi, Budu and two other men then transported the women to Chief Bello’s house.
The victim, she said, was kept in the house for eight months and forced to sleep with different men, while Chief Bello took the money that the men paid.
According to the prosecutor, one day, Commey went to the house and called the victim to meet Budu, after which Budu forced her to sleep with a heavily built man.
She said during the ordeal, Chief Bello instructed the other members of the syndicate to subject the woman to some inhuman treatment.
“Hayford was given a long-crafted artificial penis to insert into her vagina,” the prosecutor added.
With regard to Udeotuk-Wills, she said, he raped the victim whenever she refused to sleep with a man who went to the house for sex.
Escape
The prosecutor said having hatched a plan to escape, the victim started trading sexual favours with Budu to gain his trust, based on which Budu allowed her to follow him whenever he went to the market.
Ms Atutigah said the victim escaped on one of such visits and reported the matter to the police.
She was then taken to the Police Hospital, where it was discovered that she was two months pregnant.
The prosecutor revealed that the victim had since given birth to twins.
