11 Thai nationals rescued from brothels in India

In a sting operation on Sunday, police raided two prostitution rings disguised as spas in Chandigarh, India, and rescued 18 women, 11 of whom were Thai nationals, reports the IndianExpress. Four men were arrested.

After locals complained of brothels operating in the area, police sent decoy customers to enquire about ‘services’ at two locations: Golden Leaf Spa and Pyramid Spa. When the staff agreed to accept money in lieu of ‘services,’ police swooped in and raided the spas.

Customers were being charged anything between 3,000 rupees (1,250 baht) to 8,000 rupees (3,337 baht) for sexual services.

Police arrested four men operating the ‘flesh trade rackets,’ as called by the IndianExpress, including Gurmeet Singh and Atiq Rehman who ran Golden Leaf Spa, as well as Vinod [surname unknown] and Vikas [surname unknown] who ran Pyramid Spa.

All four men were taken to the Sector 3 police station and charged under Sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Immoral Trafficking Act. The men were already put in front of a court which sent them into detention yesterday.

Officers said that all 11 Thai nationals rescued from the brothels had valid passports and entered India legally on work and tourist visas.

The IndianExpress reports that the ‘flesh trade rackets’ were operating for a long time but the police only just raided the spas.

Just one week ago, seven women – including four Thai nationals – were rescued from a prostitution ring disguised as a spa in Koregaon Park in Pune City, India, leading to one arrest.

In September last year, a 40 year old Thai woman reported that she escaped forced prostitution in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. She said that she and three more Thai women were tricked into prostitution after being offered gardening work in Dubai with an attractive salary of 80,000 – 100,000 baht per month.

When they arrived in Dubai, they were sent to work as waitresses in a restaurant. Then, they were sent to work in a massage parlour where they were forced to work as prostitutes, said the victim.

In November, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs helped 12 Thai women who said they were forced into prostitution in Nigeria after being offered work as masseuses.