Thane sex racket bust: Yemeni man held for helping in getting fake PAN, Aadhaar cards for Thai women

Representative Image. File Photo

Police have arrested a Yemeni man for allegedly helping four Thai women get fake Aadhaar and PAN cards, the police said on Wednesday.

The Police had taken one of the four women into custody for allegedly running a prostitution racket in Thane district of Maharashtra, an official said on Wednesday, reported PTI.

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The Thane police arrested Bagdi Abdullah Mughed Saad (42) from Pune on Tuesday, he said.

After getting a tip-off, a team of the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell (AHTC) of the Thane police raided a hotel last week and arrested a 44-year-old Thai woman for allegedly running a sex racket. Three more Thai women were rescued from there, police had told PTI.

During the investigation, police reportedly learned that Saad had helped the four women get fake Aadhaar and PAN cards. With the help of technical leads, they tracked him down to Pune and took him into custody, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shivraj Patil on Wednesday, reported PTI.

As per the news agency report, Saad and the arrested Thai woman were living in India despite the expiry of their passports and visas, he said. He added that police have now invoked the Foreigners National Act and upgraded the original FIR.

Earlier in the case, an official had said that the police had arrested a woman from Thailand for allegedly running a sex racket in Thane, Maharashtra, reported news agency PTI.

"Based on a tip-off that a Thai woman was operating a prostitution racket and pushing women from her country into sex racket in Thane, a team of the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell (AHTC) of the police raided a hotel and nabbed her," DCP Shivraj Patil of the Crime Branch told PTI.

The three Thai women, who were rescued during the operation, were later sent to the Rescue Foundation at Poisar in Mumbai's Borivali, he said.

The police have registered a case against the arrested Thai woman under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, the official told PTI.

Charas worth Rs 18.90 lakh seized

Meanwhile, in a recent development in Thane district, the Thane Police in Maharashtra arrested three people and seized from them charas worth Rs 18.90 lakh, an official said on Wednesday, reported the PTI.

The officials said that one of the three people arrested in connection with the matter is from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.

The Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of the Thane Police's crime branch arrested the accused on different occasions, beginning on June 14, he said.