Prostitution racket exposed in Navi Mumbai; women and girls among five rescued
Thane (PTI): The police have busted a prostitution racket in Navi Mumbai, leading to the arrest of three persons and the rescue of five female individuals, including minor girls, an official said on Friday.
Those operating the illegal trade used to solicit customers online. The customers were told to book lodges in areas like Nerul, Vashi and Turbhe, where the accused used to send women and girls, the Navi Mumbai police said in a release.
The accused charged their customers Rs 4,000 per hour, it said.
Acting on input, police used a decoy customer to lay a trap at a hotel in Turbhe on July 8. After the accused sent a woman to the hotel, a team from the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell of the Navi Mumbai raided the place and rescued her, the release said.
Further investigation resulted in the rescue of four more women and girls from a flat in the Nerul area and the arrest of three persons, including the mastermind of the racket, a middleman and an autorickshaw driver who ferried the female victims to various hotels, the release said.
Police are now looking for three more accused, it said, adding that the arrested persons have been remanded in police custody till July 14.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
