Police officers in the Central West Coast Indian State of Goa on Friday arrested two Kenyan women operating a syndicate involving Kenyan women coerced to become sex workers.
Indian media reports indicated that the crackdown was initiated by the police in response to an increase in the downloading of child pornography in the region beginning July 2023.
During the operation, authorities rescued five Kenyan women who had been lured to India with promises of lucrative job opportunities abroad.
However, Superintendent of Police Nidhin Valsan said, upon their arrival, their passports were confiscated, and coerced into engaging in sex work.
The rescued women have since been provided shelter within the state. The racket targeted young, educated and vulnerable Kenyan women with jobs in the hospitality industry.
"After being brought to India, the traffickers seized the women's passports and visas and forced them into prostitution under the threat of violence," the superintended stated.
"The racket, a close-knit group involving the trafficker duo operated largely online, leveraging escort websites to solicit clients. ARZ, the NGO, became aware of the operation when the victims were taken to Bengaluru for prostitution."
The operation was conducted by a multi-agency team including officers of Anjuna Police in North Goa and an NGO named ARZ.
"Following a tip-off from a partner organization, ARZ successfully located the victims in Goa and facilitated a meeting with DSP Jivba Dalvi and Anjuna Police Inspector Prashal Dessai to share the information," he added.
Earlier, the state's authority had reported that an operation was underway after analysis found that 43,663 files of child pornography were downloaded from 30 different URLs in 2021.
According to the United States Government, the Government of Kenya does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to stamp out the crime.
The Kenyan law criminalises sex trafficking and labor trafficking with suspects facing up to 30 years to life imprisonment, a fine of not less than Ksh30 million ($243,210) or both.
"These penalties were sufficiently stringent. However, by allowing for a fine in lieu of imprisonment for sex trafficking, these penalties were not commensurate with those for other serious crimes, such as rape," read the US report.
The Kenyan government identified 556 trafficking victims in 2022 compared with 482 victims identified in 2021.
