Member of human trafficking network arrested, victims are female Ethiopian domestic workers

In its continuous hunt for human traffickers, the Directorate General of the Internal Security Forces- Public Relations Department, announced yesterday that as a result of the intensive search and investigations, the Mashta Hassan- Qobayat police arrested in Ashrafieh on January 30, a senior member of a prostitution ring (Syrian, 1967). The ISF statement said that the arrest was made in coordination with the Information Branch and the Gemayzeh police station in Beirut. Upon interrogation, the man confessed that he along with other members of the network (still at large) had been luring their 128 victims of Ethiopian nationality with the promise of work at hotels in the North or in Turkey in return for money. The detained prostitution facilitator, the statement went on to say, used local taxis across Lebanon to transport the women before he destroys his cell phone’s SIM card. When passing through a checkpoint in the Qobayat district, the women would be arrested for not having identity papers, the statement said, adding that investigation is ongoing under a competent judiciary. (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, February 7, 2017)