Cops bust online sex racket; 3 held, Uzbek woman rescued

Hyderabad: The Rachakonda Police busted an online sex racket today and nabbed three persons associated with it on charges of human trafficking. A woman, an Uzbek national who was overstaying in India after her visa expired, was rescued during the operation, police added.

Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh M Bhagwat said the police, acting on a tip-off, conducted a decoy operation at a hotel and apprehended the alleged racket kingpin Jogeshwar Rao and his associates L Gopal and K Gopi.

“Rao had brought the Uzbek woman, in her mid 20s, to Hyderabad from Delhi about a week ago and pushed her into prostitution. The woman has told us she came to Delhi about nine months ago on a six-month tourist visa. Her visa had expired and she was overstaying in India,” Bhagwat said.

The officer said Rao was engaging models and women of foreign nationalities in flesh trade as part of his online racket. The three men were booked for human trafficking, the police said.

On November 23, the Hyderabad Police had arrested a 63 -year-old man and a woman on charge of running a brothel at a flat here. The police had then rescued a 27-year-old woman, who also belonged to Uzbekistan.