'Voodoo' nurse convicted of heading up sex trafficking networking bringing women from Nigeria to Europe

A nurse who headed up a criminal network that subjected Nigerian women to voodoo rituals before trafficking them to Europe and forcing them into sex work has been found guilty in the first conviction of its kind.

Josephine Iyamu was convicted of modern slavery offences and perverting the course of justice after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

Her conviction is the first successful prosecution of a British national for offences committed overseas under the Modern Slavery Act.

Iyamu, 51, denied trafficking five women from Nigeria to Germany and exploiting them for prostitution.

Her husband was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice.

Iyamu’s conviction follows an investigation by the National Crime Agency, which began investigating her in July 2017 after the German Polizei identified one of her victims and found evidence suggesting Iyamu was the ringleader of a trafficking network.

NCA officers tracked down Iyamu, known to her victims as Madam Sandra, to a small flat in Bermondsey, South London, where she was working as a nurse.

Despite her and her husband’s moderate income, Iyamu frequently travelled to Europe and spent long periods of time in Nigeria where she owned a large house with servant’s quarters.

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The court heard that Iyamu oversaw the recruitment of vulnerable women, promising them a better life in Europe and arranging their travel from rural towns in Nigeria to Germany.

In exchange for organising travel, Iyamu charged the victims between 30,000 and 38,000 euros. Once in Germany they would be met by one of her associates who placed them in brothels and made them work as prostitutes in order to repay the debt.

Iyamu enlisted the help of a voodoo priest to control the women, putting them through a ‘Juju’ ceremony in which they were forced to drink blood containing worms, eat chicken hearts, have their skin cut with razor blades and made to take an oath not to try to escape or tell the police and repay the debt.

They were also threatened with serious harm to them or their families if they broke the oath.

Five of Iyamu’s victims gave evidence via video link from Germany, detailing the horrendous conditions they endured whilst travelling across Africa then by boat to Italy, with sexual assault, rape, kidnap and death said to be commonplace along the route.

Iyamu and her husband were arrested by NCA officers when they landed at Heathrow airport on a flight from Lagos on August 24, 2017.

Whilst she was remanded in custody awaiting trial, Iyamu tried to trace and intimidate the victims and their families as well as attempting to bribe law enforcement officers.

She is due to be sentenced on July 4.

NCA Operations Manager Kay Mellor said: “Josephine Iyamu is a calculated individual who used her apparent status as a rich, powerful and influential lady to intimidate and manipulate vulnerable women.

“With zero regard for their safety and wellbeing, she sent them via dangerous routes to Germany and forced them to work in brothels to fund her own lifestyle.

“To her, these women were not human beings seeking a better life. They were merely a commodity which she could exploit to generate income for herself.

“I commend the bravery of the five women who came forward and recounted the abuse they suffered. Thanks to them, Iyamu will no longer pose a threat to others.

“Borders are not a barrier and working with our German and Nigerian NAPTIP colleagues, the prosecution was able to bring the strongest possible case to court and ensured she faced justice in the UK for her crimes.”