Voodoo’ nurse, Josephine Iyamu jailed for 14 years for sex trafficking
A British court on Wednesday sentenced a Nigerian nurse, Josephine Iyamu, to 14 years in prison on Wednesday for trafficking five women to Germany to work as prostitutes, controlling them through voodoo.
The sentence was at Birmingham Crown Court.
Iyamu, 51, who has acquired a British citizenship, Iyamu, was found guilty in a “landmark modern slavery case’’ after the first prosecution involving victims outside Britain, the National Crime Agency said.
The investigation involved cooperation between Police in Britain, Nigeria and the German city of Trier.
It began after a brothel owner “raised concerns about the identity of a woman working there” with German Police, leading to Iyamu’s arrest in August, the agency said.
Prosecutors said she was the ringleader of a network recruiting vulnerable women from Edo State.
Iyamu charged her victims up to 44,000 dollars, which they were forced to repay by working in brothels. She also convincesd her victims they were under her control and exploited them to fund a lavish lifestyle including jaunts to Europe and £700 designer shoes.
They were also threatened with serious harm to them or their families if they broke the oath, prosecutors said.
Police and prosecutors praised the victims’ “courage to describe what happened to them” via video-links from Germany.
Iyamu is the first British national prosecuted for Modern Slavery Act offenses after trafficking victims outside the UK.