The sex racket busted on Wednesday has links in major cities of South India and is a high profile flesh trade racket, according to the police officials here. In another development in the case, the daughter of Reena Joseph, who had been arrested earlier, was taken into custody on Thursday.
However, police have not registered a case against the minor girl, considering her age, but included as a victim. She was in Wayanad with a customer when police conducted raid in the apartment at Parayancheri.
According to the sources, the racket used to hand over the girl to customers by charging Rs 25,000. Police officials are examining the call list of the mobile phones used by the five arrested persons and the girl. The girl, who had been a student with an educational institution in Mukkom, wound up her studies after she became a part of the racket, added sources.
Earlier, the police had received clues that Reena, reportedly the kingpin of the gang, and T B Dennis, the pimp, have close links with Sobha John, main accused in controversial case of blackmailing former Sabarimala Thantri Kandararu Mohanaru.
They have also got the details of the sub-agents, including two women, one who is running a beauty parlour in Malappuram and another hailing from Koorachundu in the district, with the racket in Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad districts.
The girls were called from Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore and Coimbatore and supplied to a network of clientele in the state. Sources said that the racket used to charge the clients somewhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 20,000. For 10 days, the racket used to pay Rs 40,00 to the agents outside Kerala and the girls were given a place to stay, apart from local logistics.
Earlier on Tuesday night, acting on a tip-off, a police team led by Kozhikode North Assistant Commissioner Prince Abraham and Medical College CI Prem Das carried out a raid at flat number 3G in Rani Apartments at Parayancheri near Arayidathupalam area in the city and busted the flesh trade racket.
The arrested have been identified as Dijo Joseph alias Thomas Jose, 28, of Dijo Bhavan, Nedumudi in Alappuzha district, T B Dennis, 35, of Mylampadi, Krishnagiri in Wayanad, Mohammed Aslam, 35, Nellikode, Reena Joseph, 32, of Sivariyamkunnu, Koorachundu, and Swetha, 24, hailing from Madiwala, Bangalore.
The racket was being run linking hotels and resorts in Kozhikode and Wayanad districts, police said. According to the police, the owner of the flat is Dijo Joseph, who was working as a photographer. He and Reena were staying in the apartment for some months on the pretext of staying there with his family.
Dennis, a native of Thakkod in Wayanad, used to lure girls from Bangalore and other places to Kozhikode for flesh trade. Mohammed Aslam, a native of Nellikode in the district, used to supply these girls to the customers at various locations in Kozhikode and Wayanad districts.