WASHINGTON - GHN News Staff - "For those of you think it cannot happen to you, I want to let you know that the dragnet of the traffickers is so wide that only God knows who is safe."
In 2003 the wife of Nigeria's Vice President was quoted as making that statement about her country, where human trafficking is a serious problem, even as it is cited as widespread also in the United States, an issue underlined by a recent arrest made by the Department of Justice.
One of the Department's recent indictments involves Bidemi Bello, 41, She is accused of bringing women from Nigeria to work as nannies in a forced labor status, using physical abuse and threats to control her alleged victims.
Bello, originally from Georgia and presently from Nigeria, was arraigned by the Department of Justice following an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Sep.10, 2010. Bello faces federal charges of forced labor, trafficking with respect to forced labor, document servitude and alien harboring.
According to the charges against her, Bello brought a young woman from Nigeria to Georgia, compelling her to work as a nanny and housekeeper for a period of three years, from October 2001 through March 2004. The woman escaped and Bello replaced her with another victim that she kept in involuntary servitude during the period November 2004 until April 2006. Bello isolated her victims from their families and took their identification documents so they would have to work without pay.
"Trafficking in persons, or human trafficking, is a tragically widespread form of modern-day slavery. Pursuing and prosecuting traffickers and rescuing victims of trafficking are high priorities of the Department of Justice."
This warning underlines the Department of Justice interests in stopping the practice of human trafficking.
Each of the four labor trafficking charges against Bello carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The two document servitude counts carry a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The alien harboring count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney S usan Coppedge and Deputy Chief Karima Maloney of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
"Human trafficking is a violation of the human body, mind and spirit. For this vile practice to be taking place in a country that the world looks to as a beacon of freedom... is a terrible irony and an utter tragedy,"is the statement atop the Department of Justice homepage. It underlines the tragedy of human trafficking that takes place across the world, even in free societies."
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