Alicia Edosa, 45, and Edith Enoghaghase, 31, were both found guilty of two offences under the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 after a six-week jury trial in Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court in June.

Judge Francis Comerford yesterday imposed a jail term of five years and eight months on Ms Edosa and five years and one month on Ms Enoghaghase.

Both terms of imprisonment begin from the time they first entered custody - 14 April 2019 for Ms Edosa and 10 June 2021 for Ms Enoghaghase.

Hildegarde Naughton, minister of state for civil and criminal justice, said: “Human trafficking is a heinous crime that will not be tolerated in Ireland. The sentences handed down today reflect the fact that our efforts to tackle it are paying off. We are making intensive efforts to combat human trafficking and bring the traffickers who cruelly exploit vulnerable people to justice.

“We have also introduced significant measures over the past year to create a more victim-centred approach to identifying and supporting victims, and to raise awareness and provide training.”

She added: “Combatting human trafficking is, and will continue to be, a priority for this Government and I would again like to commend the members of An Garda Síochána for their hard work in investigating and obtaining the evidence necessary to secure convictions in this complex case.”