Woman claims to be victim of trafficking

Updated: 20:22, Tuesday, 13 January 2009

A Co Mayo court has heard that gardaí are still not satisfied that they have properly identified a woman who claims to have been the victim of human trafficking.

1 of 1 Edith Orumwenes Group says woman was trafficked
Edith Orumwenes
Group says woman was trafficked

The 22-year-old woman, who says she was forced to work in the sex industry in Ireland, told the court today she would try to help gardaí to locate a house in Castlebar in which she was held against her will.

Gardaí say have not been able to establish the woman's identity and they are not satisfied that she was the subject of human trafficking.

The woman, originally from Nigeria, initially told gardaí her name was Edith Jonho, but now she says her real name is Edith Orumwenes.

Supt Frank Walsh told the court today that gardaí still have not been able to establish her real identity or how she came to Ireland.

Ruhama outreach worker Emily Jamieson said her organisation believed Ms Orumwenes was a victim of trafficking.

The woman told Ruhama she had come to Ireland to avoid an arranged marriage and believed an aunt had arranged for her to be educated here.

But instead she says that after arriving in Ireland she was taken by a man and a woman to a house in Castlebar where she was held against her will and forced to into prostitution.

She said the door of the house was locked but one day she managed to escape and made her way onto the streets of Castlebar where she met another Nigerian woman and asked for help.

She has been in garda custody since 10 November.

Her solicitor, Aidan Crowley, asked the court for his client to be released on bail to a Ruhama safe house. Supt Walsh opposed bail.

He said she had provided false documents and gardaí were not convinced she had been trafficked.

Judge Mary Devins said she was going to insist that the State do something urgently about this young woman.

She said she was prepared to remand the woman in custody for one final week.

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