A 17-year-old girl has been rescued from a brothel in Limerick and a transgender Brazilian woman also found working there has been deported as gardaí probe whether the prostitutes were victims of human trafficking.

Under a garda operation, 'Freewheel', officers have been targeting the prostitution business. In two recent raids, gardaí discovered groups of foreign women working in brothels.

In the earlier raid, on 20 September, gardaí raided an apartment at Mount Kennett in Limerick city and found five women working as prostitutes, including a 17-year-old Romanian girl who is now in the care of the HSE. A Brazilian transgender woman in her 30s, a Hungarian woman, a Nigerian and Romanian women were also discovered at the premises.

On Wednesday afternoon, gardaí raided an apartment on Henry Street and found three Hungarian women working as prostitutes.