International Sex Racket Busted In Goa; Clients Paid Through QR Codes

New Delhi: The North Goa Police on Friday busted an international sex trade racket and rescued five Kenyan women. Two men were also arrested in this connection. Police said the arrested accused are traffickers who lured the Kenyan women to India on the promise of offering jobs in Goa’s hospitality industry but instead forced them into the flesh trade. “We have rescued five ladies, who are of Kenyan nationality and we have arrested two accused, also from Kenya,” North Goa superintendent of police (SP) Nidhin Valsan said.

The operation, based in Goa but run from Kenya, involved victim sex workers providing QR codes to clients for payment, which was then transferred in full to the traffickers. The OR code/UPI payment is usually made at the initial stage of the transaction, so that clients do not escape paying the victim later.

Anjuna PI Prashal Dessai said that police have arrested Maria Dorcas, 28, and Wilkista Achitsa, 22, both Kenyan nationals, for running the sex racket. All five women, also Kenyan, were also rescued in collaboration with the NGO Arz. Police are currently searching for a third accused, a Nigerian.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Jivba Dalvi told the media that young, educated, and vulnerable Kenyan women were falsely promised jobs in the hospitality industry by agents working on behalf of traffickers based in Goa.

After being brought to India, the traffickers seized the women’s passports and visas, forcing them into prostitution under threat of violence and debt, said the DSP.