Muscat: The Court of Appeal in Sohar has sentenced four Egyptian nationals and a commercial establishment to severe penalties for their involvement in a human trafficking ring. Mohammed Nabil Al-Saeed, Shorouk Ahmed Mohammed, and Karima Mohammed Saad were each sentenced to seven years in prison and fined RO 10,000 for trafficking crimes, alongside an additional 10 years in prison and RO 20,000 fines each for using the internet to promote and facilitate human trafficking.

The fourth defendant, Ishraqat Al-Asr Trading Establishment, was fined RO 10,000, while both the first and fourth defendants were also found guilty of money laundering. Al-Saeed received a five-year prison term and a RO 50,000 fine, while the company was fined RO 100,000, with partial execution of the fines. The court also convicted Al-Saeed and Shorouk for publishing pornographic content online, sentencing them to six months in prison and RO 500 fines.

Karima Saad was additionally fined RO 100 for violating visa and residency laws. Following the verdict, the court ordered the permanent deportation of all foreign convicts after they serve their sentences, confiscation of illicit funds, devices, and company assets, dissolution of the company, and publication of the final verdict.

Investigations by Oman’s Public Prosecution revealed the group lured victims to Oman under false pretenses of employment and marriage and later forced them into prostitution, confiscating their passports and using filmed materials to attract clients.