Police in Glasgow, Scotland, claim they have evidence of human trafficking in the city’s sex trade. The police have successfully applied for the licence of the Aquarius sauna in the Glasgow’s west end to be revoked as it is alleged to have not only been operating as a brothel, but was also forcing women to work as prostitutes against their will. It is estimated that women from more than 22 countries work as prostitutes in Glasgow and police are trying to gather evidence as to how many of these women have been trafficked.
Chief Inspector Barry Donaldson said
“Current intelligence raises concerns of females being ‘trafficked’ into the UK to work within the sex industry. Evidence exists of this activity within the Glasgow sex industry. 
“It’s safe to say we are aware of people-trafficking for the sex industry within the UK and it was only a matter of time before we experienced it in Glasgow.”
A city council spokesman said: “The criminal nature of trafficking means it is hidden and difficult to quantify, but the level of hard and anecdotal evidence is beginning to grow. 
“So far the council’s frontline workers have only come into direct contact with a very small number of women who are known to have been trafficked. 
“But extensive measures are already in place to ensure the council can properly support these extremely vulnerable women as and when they do come forward.”

According to a study recently published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Brazilian Ministry of Justice, the majority of women trafficked into sexual exploitation in Brazil are between 18 and 21 years old, are from poor backgrounds and have little education. The fact that they have not received much education makes them vulnerable to job offers from traffickers which seem to promise a better life. One of the keys to reducing the level of human trafficking around the world is the provision of good education for girls and increasing the prospects of real jobs when they leave school. In contrast, the research revealed that the first level of human traffickers who contact the women are men between 31 years and 41 years old who have good education. The majority of traffickers at this level are entrepreneurs who work at nightclubs, trade businesses, dating agencies, bars, tour agencies, and even beauty parlours. As well as being trafficked within Brazil, these victims are also sent to Europe, Japan and the USA. The research also concluded that law enforcers often see this kind of trafficking as less important than drugs and arms trafficking. 

Nigeria has strengthened its laws against human trafficking, and in particular has now introduced sentences of up to 14 year for pimps who use underage prostitutes. Nigeria is a major destination country for women, children and men being trafficked into forced labour and forced prostitution. It is also a source and transit country for victims travelling onto Europe for further exploitation.
Carol Ndaguba, executive secretary of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP), said: “Human trafficking … has assumed dangerous dimensions that require urgent and drastic attention.”
A new fine has now been introduced for people using children as domestic servants. Although the fine is only $776, this will act as a deterrent in the context of the local economy.
NAPTIP also claimed that it has evidence that children from 22 of the 36 states in Nigeria have been trafficked, mainly into forced begging and street selling. This shows how widespread human trafficking is in the country and how urgent action is now required to enforce the new laws. 

The prosecutor’s office in the Crimean region of Ukraine has initiated a case against an Uzbek citizen who was allegedly trafficking fellow Uzbeks through the Crimea and into forced prostitution in Turkey. The press office at the Crimea Prosecutor’s Office claimed that all the money the woman made was being spent on building a private house. The case was uncovered when Simferopol frontier guard officials detained several victims of human trafficking at the port of Sevastopol. This case shows that, despite Turkey’s preparations for possible accession to the EU, there is still a flow of victims of human trafficking into the country to be abused as sex slaves.