‘Voodoo’ nurse jailed for trafficking women

A London-based nurse who used voodoo threats to traffic vulnerable women from Nigeria to Germany to work as prostitutes has been jailed for 14 years at Birmingham Crown Court.

Josephine Iyamu exposed her five victims to a “real and significant” risk of death. The women were forced to swear oaths to hand over money during “juju” ceremonies, which saw them ordered to eat chicken hearts, drink blood containing worms, and endure razor cuts.

Iyamu, a 51-year-old formerly of Bermondsey, was the first person to be prosecuted in the UK over victims with no connection to Britain.