Three human traffickers who held a teenage girl captive for several months and forced her into prostitution have been jailed for a total of 21 years.
The gang enticed the 17-year-old victim to move to Dubai from her native Bangladesh with the promise of securing her work as a masseuse in the emirate.
But after she landed in the UAE in January, the men took her to a flat in Bur Dubai, where they kept her locked up and told her she would have to pay Dh13,000 for her travel arrangements if she didn't sell her body.
She was finally given hope of bringing her nightmare to an end in April when a customer took pity on her and handed her a phone and the number of Dubai Police.
She alerted police and told of her ordeal at the hands of her countrymen, aged between 20 and 28.
“I started crying when they told me I would work as a prostitute," the victim told prosecutors.
"I begged them, but they threatened that I would have to pay all of the expenses and costs of my visa and ticket, which I wasn't capable of.
"They locked the doors so I would not try to escape."
After police received the girl's plea for help, they traced the call and raided the flat.
The three defendants were arrested following the police swoop.
They denied charges of human trafficking and running a brothel when they first appeared before Dubai Criminal Court in June, but were convicted at a hearing on Monday.
The men were each handed seven-year jail sentences, which can be appealed in the next two weeks.
The trio are to be deported once their prison terms are served.
