Panaji: Goa police on Friday arrested two women including one from Israel and another from Kenya busted an interanational sex trafficking ring operating between Kenya and India, a senior police official said.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Jivba Dalvi told reporters that two accused Maria Dorcas (Israel) and Wilkista Achista (Kenya) were arrested for running an international sex trafficking ring. He said that five women were rescued by the state police in an operation conducted with the help of NGO ARZ.
Dalvi said that the operation was carried out by Anjuna police busting a racket run between Kenya and India.
He said that the young, educated, and vulnerable Kenyan women were falsely promised jobs in the hospitality industry by agents working on behalf of traffickers based in Goa.
“After being brought to India, the traffickers seized the women’s passports and visas, forcing them into prostitution under threat of violence,”Dalvi said.
Dalvi said that the racket, a close-knit group involving the trafficker duo Maria Dorcas and Wilkista, operated largely online, leveraging escort websites to solicit clients.
He said that the racket was exposed when ARZ NGO became aware of the operation when the victims were taken to Bangalore for prostitution.
Dalvi said that following a tip-off from a partner organization, ARZ successfully located the victims in Goa and facilitated a meeting with him to share the information.
“Prompt action by the Goa police resulted in immediate lodging of a complaint, followed by targeted raids that rescued five women and apprehended the central figure behind the racket,” he said.
The rescued women have been lodged in Protective home at Merces, he added.
