NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has dismantled an organised immoral trafficking racket operating through bar-cum-restaurants and dance bars in West Bengal, seizing over Rs 1.01 crore in cash, property documents and luxury vehicles.
According to the ED, the racket involved the exploitation of vulnerable women who were lured with false promises of employment and coerced into prostitution. The illegal operations allegedly generated several crores in illicit proceeds, which were laundered through multiple companies controlled by the accused.
The West Bengal Police had filed charge sheets against the accused, identified as Jagjit Singh, Ajmal Siddiqui, Bishnu Mundra, and their associates.
During the investigation, the agency found that an organised trafficking and prostitution racket was being operated by the above-named persons primarily through bar-cum-restaurants owned or controlled by them.
The agency initiated the probe based on multiple FIRs registered under various sections of the IPC, 1860, Arms Act, 1959, and the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1986, which constitute scheduled offences under the PMLA, 2002.
“During the searches, cash worth over Rs 1.01 crore and digital devices have been seized along with various property documents. A number of bank account details under the use and operation of the accused/suspect persons have been identified,” the ED said in a statement.
Two high-end luxury vehicles, including a Land Rover Defender and a Jaguar, have also been frozen under the provisions of the PMLA.