Gaddafi's former security chief lifts the lid on dead dictator's harems and how those who helped in his sexual conquests were quickly promoted Mansour Daw stayed loyal to the tyrant until his downfall and death in 2011 The Department of Protocol was set up to source women for Gaddafi He would take groups of sex slaves on foreign trips disguised as guards Dead Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi raped hundreds of women during his years in power, and even kept a harem of sex slaves locked in the basement of his home, his former security chief has revealed. Mansour Daw, who stayed loyal to the tyrant until his downfall and subsequent death in 2011, said Gadaffi's sexual appetite was so strong that an entire government department was established to source and provide him with prostitutes. Many were kept in his Tripoli compound under lock and key where the dictator could call on their services night or day. And when he travelled abroad on state affairs, he would take them along, usually disguised as bodyguards or journalists, Daw said. Sex slaves? Muammar Gadaffi (pictured) would take the women on diplomacy missions to foreign countries disguised as bodyguards Cravings: There was even an entire government department dedicated to sourcing and providing women for Gaddafi (left) on which he would carry out his sexual cravings. His wife, Safia Farkash, is pictured right 'It fell under the umbrella of the Department of Protocol under the direction of Nuri Mesmari, a schemer who had the gall to parade around in a general's uniform every now and then,' Daw told journalist Annick Cojean. [Mesmari] had the nickname "the general of special affairs" so the only word that was applicable could be avoided: General of the Whores. Daw claimed to have known nothing of the basement 'dungeon' where many of Gadaffi's favourites were held under his compound in capital Tripoli. 'I swear I never went down to that basement!' he exclaimed, revealing no further details of the conditions under which they were held. And while most generals who turned a blind eye as he carried out his depraved activities with young women - and sometimes men - those who helped feed his vast sexual appetite were quickly promoted. '[Mesmari] looked for women everywhere; that was his specialty and his primary function; he would even pick up prostitutes on the street,' added Daw. Fast track to power: And while most generals who turned a blind eye as he carried out his depraved activities, those who helped feed his vast sexual appetite were fast promoted The women accompanied the dictator on trips to western nations including France and Spain, Daw told Cojean, an excerpt of whose book, Gaddafi's Harem, has been published in Salon.com, where they would travel under the guise of "committees," "delegations," or "groups of journalists'. When asked about rumours Gaddafi even forced ministers to have sex with him, Daw replied: 'It doesn't surprise me. There are so many ambitious people. There were even those who were prepared to hand over their wife or daughter in exchange for some favour or other. Daw himself, however, insisted Gaddafi never propositioned him or any of his relatives, even at parties hosted by the security chief. 'He wouldn't have dared to pounce on any of my guests,' he said. He knew all too well what my reaction would have been. But I preferred that he be somewhere else. Had he come he would surely have been accompanied by his whores, always on the lookout, and that terrified me. Gaddafi died during the NATO-backed uprising in Libya on October 20 2011 when he was shot after being taken prisoner by rebels. He was 69. Meanwhile, Daw is currently being held in a high-security prison in Libya where he awaits trial for war crimes.