HYDERABAD: The Special Operations Team of Rachakonda police nabbed four persons running an interstate human trafficking racket, and rescued a woman who was being trafficked to Muscat.
The victim who moved to the city from Andhra Pradesh, was trapped by the accused who indulge in trafficking women to Gulf countries with fake documents.
40 passports were seized from the arrested persons Shaik Mohammed Imthiyaz, Nune Subbamma, Gundugala Subba Rayudu and Mohamed Haroon, while three others Sayed, Mohd. Naseer and Sumaiya Fathima are on the run, said Rachakonda commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat.
Police said the arrested are working as agents for AL-Hayath Tours & Travels, Malakpet, which deals with emigration and manpower recruitment.
Naseer, Imthiyaz, Subbamma and Subba Rayudu belong to Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh State and other accused belong to Hyderabad. But they are now operating from Hyderabad city.
The victim's journey
The victim in the case landed in the trap, after one of her relatives travelled to Muscat recently. Her flight was scheduled to leave on February 2, 2021, but due to some family issues, she could not travel.
Imthiyaz then approached the victim and convinced her to travel on an another flight on February 7, 2020. They got the victim a covid test and informed her to reach the airport in advance. But Imthiyaz intending to exploit the victim sexually, asked her to stay with him for a night in a lodge near the Shamshabad Airport. As he also spoke to her in vulgar language, she skipped the meeting with him and went directly to the airport on February 7.
Imthiyaz rushed to the airport and gave her instructions where he said that they would transfer Rs 30,000 to her family after she sent them pictures clicked while boarding the flight. She became suspicious and fled the airport and approached police.
History of the accused
Police found that after Subbamma’s husband passed away, she developed a relationship with Subba Rayudu. Later, the both of them worked in various gulf countries and during their stay, picked up Arabic. This helped them develop contacts with manpower recruiting agencies in Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Muscat.
Taking advantage of this, the duo lured innocent people and send them to the Middle East in a fraudulent manner on visiting visa instead of a work visa. Imthiyaz and Sayeed are also involved in the same business and was found to be assisting another accused Nasar who is now located in Muscat.
During the process, the local agents earn upto Rs 1 lakh for each reference, from Mohd. Naseer.
Investigation revealed that these agencies collect information about Arabs who need home maid services. And as per the requirement, they lure women who are in financial crisis, attract them with high paying job offers starting at more than Rs 30,000 per month and send them to Gulf countries like Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, where employers exploit them.
If the women don't have passports, the agencies help them get one. They also book flight tickets and arrange money for the victims' expenditure.