A YOUNG woman arrested during a raid on a suspected brothel in Kilkenny city may be the victim of a human trafficking ring.
Gardaí raided a house just metres from the High Street on Thursday night and arrested the woman, who appeared before a special sitting of Kilkenny District Court on Friday evening.
The woman was charged with failing to produce a valid passport or another form of identification.
She was remanded in custody to Mountjoy Prison to appear before Kilkenny District Court.
Det Garda Liam Maher told the court yesterday that in a raid “we found a young lady in the house”.
“We asked her to produce identification, but she said she had none. A search of the house revealed nothing that could identify her. The woman was the sole occupant of the house, and she was arrested and brought to Kilkenny Garda station for questioning on suspicion of running a brothel.
“During the interview she was unable to offer or provide any help as to her identification.
“She said that she got a direct flight from Nigeria to Dublin, but there are no such flights as all incoming flights from Nigeria stop in the UK,” said the detective.
“We are worried that she may be a minor and a victim of human trafficking. During the course of her detention she rang two numbers, one of whom she said belonged to her stepmother. They were Nigerian numbers and she spoke in a local language. We made inquiries with Interpol and the Nigerian authorities, but they can be somewhat slow in their response.”
Solicitor Martin O’Carroll told the court he would make contact with the Nigerian embassy about the case.
Judge William Harnett said there was a possibility the woman was in fact a minor and vulnerable.
“This is a young person who is very much at risk. I am not letting her out of custody while she may still be at risk and unless she has some chance of finding a safe place.
“The women’s section in Mountjoy Prison is a lot safer than a lot of other places. It might well be the case that her parents are looking for her in Nigeria.”
Judge Harnett remanded her in custody to appear before Kilkenny District Court next Tuesday.