HYDERABAD : Police in Princeton of Texas in the US on Tuesday charged four persons of Telugu origin of human trafficking after they rescued 15 women who were forced to work for the shell companies owned by the accused.
According to details released by the Princeton police, the incident came to light on March 13 when a pest control company alerted the police after observing three to five young women sleeping on the floor. Officers who were dispatched to a house in Ginsburg Lane for a welfare check reported a “suspicious environment”.
Traffickers were arrested in March
A subsequent search warrant revealed that 15 women were forced to work for shell companies owned by Santhosh Katkoori, 31, his wife Dwaraka Gunda, 31, and their associates Chandan Dasireddy, 24, and Anil Male, 37. They were all arrested in March but were charged now with trafficking of persons, a second-degree felony. More arrests are expected, the police said.
The Princeton Police Department’s press note stated that during the investigation, females were found forced to work for Katkoori and multiple shell companies.
The search warrant execution resulted in the seizure of laptops, cell phones, printers, and fraudulent documents. Further investigations revealed additional locations in Princeton, Melissa and McKinney where forced labour, including that of adult males, was occurring. Additional electronics and documents were seized from these locations, the release said.