Cold calling latest trick in flesh trade -Herald

February 23, 2013 VIBHA VERMA PANJIM: In a well-disguised modus operandi, pimps are luring women into the sex trade in Goa by befriending them over the cellphone, over a period of time, and then recommending they come down and meet female accomplices, in the name of employment, especially if they aren’t well off financially. In a fresh case that has come to light, a 20-year-old single mother from Mumbai was rescued by police and a Vasco non-governmental organization (NGO) after she was lured to Goa, using the above modus operandi. In what appears to be an organized racket operating pan-India, gullible women are enticed into the trade with Goa as the focal point, since it attracts lots of tourists. The anonymous caller randomly calls cell numbers and when a woman picks up, he tries to develop a rapport with her. Later, she is put across to a female accomplice ~ whose role is very crucial ~ where she finds herself being pushed into prostitution. The case of the Mumbai-based woman who was rescued from Vasco unveils this trend. “On receiving the first call, the 20 year old said it was a wrong number. The caller then began making regular calls to her. Since she felt lonely and was left only with her child, after her husband abandoned her, she found a friend in the caller,” a friend of the victim told Herald. The victim, unaware of the consequences, discussed her personal problems with him. After a month, the man promised her a job in Goa that would meet her financial needs. “She wanted to meet him, but he directed her to a woman in Goa. The woman picked her up from a designated spot and pushed her into prostitution in Goa,” the relative said. The unfortunate young woman was rescued , the pimp arrested; but the unknown caller remains at large. It is now learnt, that this is not a stray incident, as recent rescue operations by police and NGO Anyay Rahat Zindagi (ARZ) reveal. Several victims, most of whom hail from Mumbai and West Bengal, have narrated similar ordeals. ARZ, which works to combat human trafficking and sex trade, conceded that Goa is made a hub to avoid suspicion. “These callers operate from various parts in the country. They make random calls and if a woman picks up the call, the caller goes on to call many times in an attempt to develop friendship,” ARZ Director Arun Pandey said. Once the woman opens up her personal life to the caller, the latter preys on her weakness and lures her into this profession by just promising that she and her family will be financially stable. Pandey says cellphone technology has replaced older methods of physically reaching out to gullible victims which carried a huge risk of being nabbed. “The mobile service is the safest technique adopted by pimps. The racketeers change their cellphone mobile numbers. The victims are asked to meet a middleman/woman. The main culprit is never in the picture and this is how he escapes police action,” he said. Over 50 women who were victims of commercial sexual exploitation were rescued in a series of raids conducted last year across various parts in the state. Different versions were given by them with some even confessing of volunteering into prostitution, due to their dire financial condition. Fearing frequent raids on massage parlours in the recent past, flesh trade operators have changed their modus operandi and now supply girls directly to hotels and lodges where customers reside, another dangerous trend in the flesh trade business. The same kingpins are involved in supplying girls to clients to unsuspecting destinations. http://www.heraldgoa.in/News/Main%20Page%20News/Cold-calling-latest-trick-in-flesh-trade/71130.html