TIRUCHY: Police on Tuesday busted a sex racket in the city and sealed four body massage centres that were used for forced sex work. Five persons were arrested and ten women working in the centres were rescued.
The crackdown followed a tip-off that a massage centre was being misused for flesh trade.
Commissioner of Police J Loganathan formed a special drive to inspect licences and conduct searches on massage centres across the city. Based on the order, the police conducted raids and sealed four centers that were found operating without licence and using the place for forced sex work.
The sealed parlour included Darshini Ayurveda Center in Karumandapam; Dhivyam Spa Center in Cantonment; and two spa centers - Darshini and Heavenly - in KK Nagar and Pon Nagar respectively,
Five persons, Murugan (36) of Theni; Dharmendra (30) of Tiruchy, Praveen (26) of Thiruverumbur, Ajith (28) of Lalgudi, and Gopinath (23) Tiruchy were arrested.
Speaking to Express, Loganathan, said, “Based on the tip-off, seperate teams were formed to scrutinise the massage centers in the city. Officials conducted enquiries when the customers were present in these massage centers.”
“Following it, the owners were arrested for violating licence norms,” he added. Police rescued 10 women working in the massage parlours and housed them in special homes.