Two young women were forced to eat SNAKES and SNAILS as traffickers
used black magic to scare them into working as prostitutes, a court has
heard.
A jury at Cardiff Crown Court was told the women from
Nigeria were also shaved as part of a ritualistic ceremony designed to
frighten them into secrecy.
Lizzy Felis, also known as Lizzy
Idahosa, 24, denies a total of seven charges relating to trafficking two
women into and around the UK, inciting them to become prostitutes and
transferring criminal property.
Her partner Jackson Omoruyi, 41,
denies three charges of inciting the women to become prostitutes and
transferring criminal property.
Opening the trial prosecutor
Caroline Rees said police had arrested a 23-year-old Nigerian woman at
the Ambassador Suite brothel in City Road, Cardiff, in June 2013.
The
woman told them she had been living rough in Nigeria after her mother
died and had wanted to travel to the UK to find her father
She had met a woman, who claimed to be Idahosa’s sister, who promised to make arrangements for her to travel to London.
As
part of the agreement she attended a “juju ceremony” where she had her
head shaved and was forced to eat a snail, a raw egg and some dust.
She was told that if she broke her oath of secrecy she would become ill, or go mad or infertile.
Ms Rees said: “She genuinely believed the powers would work.”
The
court heard she then had her photograph taken with a man who posed as
her husband and was given fake travel documents. She managed to pass
through immigration at Heathrow and was taken to Kings Cross.
Ms
Rees said: “She did not know what was expected of her. She was taken to a
premises full of women dressed in their underwear. There was no
explanation as to what was going on but it soon became clear.”
The prosecution allege that Idahosa, of Dressington Avenue in London,
told the woman she would have to pay £50,000 in exchange for her travel
to the UK.
She started to work as a prostitute and was forced to have sexual intercourse with seven or eight men every day.
She
worked in East Croydon, Brighton, Stevenage and Swansea before being
moved to Cardiff. The woman estimated that she had paid £45,550 to
Idahosa in total.
The court heard a second woman had a similar experience. The woman,
who is now 29, was also from Nigeria and met a woman claiming to be
Idahosa’s mother who offered her a job in a shop in London but made her
promise not to tell her family.
The second woman was also forced
to take part in a juju ceremony where she was forced to eat a snake and
drink dirty water before having her pubic hair shaved.
She was told that if she broke her oath of secrecy her family would be killed.
The
court heard she was given a script to learn, which involved telling
immigration officials that she was a lesbian and she was fleeing Nigeria
to avoid being sacrificed.
When she arrived at Heathrow she recited the script and was taken to secure accommodation from where she managed to escape.
She
made contact with Idahosa who made arrangements for her to travel to a
brothel and told her she would have to repay £50,000 in travel costs.
Ms Rees said: “She was devastated and she cried but she could not see
she had any option because she felt bound by the juju ceremony. Lizzy
threatened to kill her mother and brother.”
The second woman also worked in several locations across England before being moved to Swansea and then Cardiff.
The
court heard Idahosa was in a relationship with Omoruyi and they had a
child together. The money was transferred between their bank accounts.
Ms Rees described Omoruyi, from Laleham Road in London, as “the financial middle man”.
The case continues.
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