Team Herald
PANJIM: Two days after busting an online prostitution racket at Margao, Crime Branch (CB) sleuths cracked down on internet escort services operating along the northern coastal belt on Thursday.
The team headed by PI Dattaguru Sawant rescued seven young victims in two separate raids and arrested four persons including a lady pimp.
The Maharashtrian woman, who ran a guesthouse at Calangute, was caught red-handed providing the premises for prostitution activities. While three men, including a driver, who would pick and drop the victims from different places.
“Our decoy customers confirmed the news after which the two places were raided. In the first raid, one man was arrested and five girls rescued from near the traffic police station at Calangute. Two other girls were rescued from the guest house, and two others arrested,” the officer told Herald.
CB does not rule out further arrests even as investigations and related formalities were underway until late into the night.
The raiding team took the accused and the rescued girls to the CB office at Ribandar where they were questioned extensively. The girls have reportedly admitted to being pushed into the illegal business. They were later sent to the protective home at Merces.
“The accused would tap customers via internet, develop contacts and strike a deal. Their Facebook and Whatsapp accounts are also being checked for more leads. The locations were decided through internet contacts,” an officer said.
On November 24, CB had busted a similar sex racket in a raid conducted at SGDPA market Margao. Three persons had been arrested and one girl rescued.
