During the last five years, only 12 victims managed to escape from the clutches of the racketeers and return home. Of them, only eight women came forward and recorded their statement, officials said.Kochi: It is suspected that at least 500 Keralite women were among those who were forced into sex trade by a vast network of human trafficking and prostitution racket based in Dubai.
Though the CBI, which investigated the case, received vital information about some of the victims trapped in the emirates of Sharjah and Ajman, the agency is still waiting for permission from the central government to conduct further investigation.
During the last five years, only 12 victims managed to escape from the clutches of the racketeers and return home. Of them, only eight women came forward and recorded their statement, officials said.
The CBI had passed on the information collected from the victims to the respective embassies in the Emirates seeking actions to curb the ghastly activities of this syndicate of human trafficking and prostitution. It is learnt that women of different nationalities have fallen prey to the racket.
Information regarding the racket involved in the sale of Keralite girls for sex came to light during an enquiry into the alleged human trafficking through the international airports in Nedumbassery and Thiruvananthapuram.
As the crime took place in another country, the CBI faced potential challenges and pitfalls in carrying out overseas investigations. The agency could not collect evidence from Sharjah or Ajman or prepare a mahasar on the basis of the statements given by those who managed to return home.
The CBI submitted the charge-sheet in the case based on the details extracted from the Dubai police through a questionnaire. The only occasion the agency was allowed to enter Dubai was to get the custody of K. V. Suresh, the prime accused in the case.
Though the investigators had managed to trace and identify the foreign nationals involved in the case, they did not get the chance to interrogate them. So far, the CBI could nab only those Keralites who acted as middlemen in the sex trade. The accused, who are facing a trial now, have so far refused to divulge any information regarding the kingpins of the racket.
The women were lured to the Gulf country on promises of jobs as domestic helps with salaries ranging between 20,000-25,000 per month. The CBI has confirmed that the racket has deployed its agents in all the fourteen district in the state. Moreover, those in the police custody have revealed that human trafficking still takes place through the airports in the state.
According to CBI sleuths, the local agents would receive a commission of Rs 50,000 per person from the main agents. Most of the victims, who did not possess a passport, were sent abroad on fake travel documents. The victims were forced to obey the orders of the racketeers as they were aware of the fact that the forged passport and other documents would land them in jail.
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