Trafficking ring linked to Gulf busted in Telangana

JOB LURE Travel agents promise jobs to unsuspecting women, sell them off to Arab sheikhs

police in Telangana have busted a trafficking ring involving travel agents who allegedly sold women from coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh to Arab sheikhs in Gulf nations as “sex slaves” after promising them jobs.

U Trimurthulu alias Murthy (32), M Tathaji alias Nani (26), P Dasu (30), G Rama Rao (40) and S Murali (37) — all natives of East Godavari and West Godavari districts — were arrested by a special operations team of Malkajgiri police station on Friday, for running the ring on behalf of six Indian travel agents in Dubai.

Police have set up special teams to arrest the Dubai agents, including their kingpin Pothula Srinu Babu alias Dubai Sinu.

“The ring was busted following an investigation into the complaint a woman lodged with the Ghatkesar police,” Rachakonda police commissioner

Mahesh Bhagawat said.

Police said Sinu and his associates, who have been working as travel agents in Dubai, Muscat and other Gulf countries for the last 10 years, have been luring married women through their local agents, promising them jobs as domestic servants, cooks, caretakers and baby sitters for a salary of ~30,000 per month.

“Several innocent women, who got carried away by attractive

offers, left their families to Dubai, Muscat. Once there, Sinu and others handed them over to local manpower agencies who sold them off to Arab sheikhs, who would then keep them as sex slaves. The hapless women had no chance to return to India as these agencies would confiscate their passports and other travel documents. The agents made lakhs of rupees by selling innocent women to the sheikhs,” the police commissioner said.

One of the victims who went to Dubai in February 2017 realised that she had been cheated, and refused to succumb to the pressures of the agencies. Some time later, when her husband went to Dubai in search of work, he found his wife in a miserable condition. She told him that she was kept in a small room where several other Telugu women were also languishing.

“Her husband fought with Sinu for three months to send back his wife. With the help of his relatives and friends in his village in East Godavari, he managed to put pressure on Sinu and subsequently the couple returned. Later, she lodged a complaint with the Ghatkesar police,” the commissioner said.

Investigations revealed that the agents had sent more than 100 women. As per their confessions, there are at least 50 agents in East and West Godavari districts who are running the women trafficking ring, he said.

HYDERABAD:Rachakonda