Online Sex Racket Busted in Mumbai: Crime Branch Raids Hotels, Lodges and Guest Houses in Andheri; One Arrested

The Mumbai Crime Branch has dismantled an online flesh trade racket operating across hotels, lodges, and guest houses in the Andheri and Saki Naka areas. Acting on specific intelligence, officials arrested a 45-year-old woman identified as Upasana, alias Aarti, a resident of Ghatkooper, who was allegedly orchestrating the trade by providing young women and minors to clients upon demand.

According to the Crime Branch, the accused managed the operations via mobile phone, coordinating with clients and dispatching girls to various transit points in the suburbs. Upon receiving information about her activities, the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell (AHTC) set a trap using a decoy customer. The decoy contacted Aarti and requested minor girls for physical relations. The accused confirmed their availability and demanded a payment of 8,000 per girl.

During the negotiation, the accused shared photographs of the women on WhatsApp to finalize the deal. Once the decoy customer signaled his approval, Aarti instructed him to meet at a hotel located on the Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road. On Monday evening, around 4:30 PM, Aarti arrived at the designated spot with two young women. As the monetary transaction was being finalized, a team led by Senior Police Inspector Nitin Potdar raided the premises and took her into custody.

Interrogations revealed that Aarti acted as a middleman, charging 8,000 from clients while paying 5,000 to the women and pocketing a 3,000 commission. The two women rescued during the raid confirmed they were brought there at Aarti’s behest for commercial sexual exploitation. Following their rescue and subsequent medical examinations, the women were shifted to a state-run rehabilitation home.

The police have registered a case under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act (PITA). A local court has remanded the accused to police custody for further questioning. Meanwhile, the police have identified another woman, Noori alias Nasreen, as a co-conspirator in the case and have launched a search to apprehend her.