The Kochi city police will soon launch a special drive on the lines of Operation Big Daddy to check a thriving online flesh trade.
Officials said steps were in place to constitute a special team comprising cyber investigators, who would monitor those plying the trade online.
The move comes in the wake of the police busting two rackets from Kaloor and Palarivattom last week and arresting 10 persons.
“With online advertisements and recruitments, the racketeers are greatly expanding their reach while eluding enforcement agencies. And despite successful crackdowns, they continue to adapt, operate and thrive,” said S. Sreejith, Inspector General of Police, Kochi Range, who helmed Operation Big Daddy during his stint with the State Crime Branch earlier this year.
As part of the drive, a police team will monitor the activities of online rackets, including free classifieds websites, while cops in decoy will be assigned to approach them as potential clients.
Modus operandi
According to officials, the online rackets operate mainly using classified advertisement websites to carry on their business in the city. A customer just needs to run a Google search to get contact numbers.
After verifying the whereabouts of clients, the agent invites them to ‘pick-up points’ and before clinching the deal, the
customer gets photos of the women via Whatsapp.
Bengaluru link
Official sources said many rackets were trafficking young and under-age girls from Bengaluru, the hub of women trafficking in south India.
“The presence of girls supplied by agents operating in Bengaluru has come to our notice in a majority of the cases reported this year,” they said.
While the number of immoral trafficking cases in Kerala is coming down with each passing year, from 180 in 2013 to 103 till October this year, Kochi is an exception. Compared to 17 cases in 2013, the city witnessed 59 cases last year. The number of cases is expected to rise further by the year-end.
