Goa's Mandrem Police launched a crackdown on a major international sex trafficking racket in a joint operation with the NGO Anyay Rahit Zindagi.
The raiding team arrested kingpin Jojo Nakintu, a Ugandan national, and unearthed a systematic operation wherein economically weak and single mothers from Uganda were on the target list of the traffickers, officials said. Two victims have been rescued. According to police, an FIR under sections 370 IPC and sections 4, 5, and 7 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act has been registered against the accused. The rescued women have been lodged in a Protective home at Merces. As per SP North Akshat Kaushal, economically weak and young single mothers from Uganda were falsely promised jobs of employment at restaurants and cafes in Goa. After being brought to India, the traffickers threatened the young women and seized their passports and visas, forcing them into prostitution under threat of violence. The racket, a close-knit group involving the trafficker Jojo Nakintu, operated largely online, leveraging escort websites to solicit clients as well as offline, standing on the beach and roads at Arambol. The initial information regarding this racket was received when one of the victims contacted the embassy. Through the assistance and support of the embassy, Goa police were able to reach out to the location of the victims. Further investigation into the same was ongoing. (ANI)
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