About 24 suspected members of a sex trafficking ring accused of forcing Nigerian women into prostitution in France will go on trial Wednesday.
In 2016 and 2017, Nigeria was the main country of origin of the migrants arriving across the Mediterranean to Italy, but the numbers have since dropped.
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Many of the arrivals, women and girls, come from Benin, Edo State and were given fake promises of jobs as hairdressers or seamstresses.
They found themselves selling sex on arrival to repay their debts.
A report by AFP said Nigerians now outnumber Chinese or Eastern European sex workers in France and some other European countries.
Police in Lyon uncovered the sex trafficking ring after receiving a tip about a Nigerian pastor accused of exploiting several sex workers who lived in apartments he owned.
The pastor, Stanley Omoregie, has denied the charges, which include aggravated pimping and slavery.
Mr Omoregie is being treated by the prosecution as head of a family-based syndicate made up of 10 women and 14 men, including one of Europe’s most wanted women, Jessica Edosomwan, accused of recruiting destitute women in Nigeria for sex trade in Lyon, Nimes and Montpellier.
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Prosecutors estimate that 17 alleged victims, aged 17 to 38, made up to 150,000 euros ($166,000) a month for the syndicate, selling sex for as little as 10 euros.
The suspects were arrested between September 2017 and January 2018 after months of police wiretaps and surveillance.
