Human trafficking racket busted by Rachakonda Police, four arrested

The MD of the agency, Mohd Naseer, and his daughter Sumaiaya Fathima (23), who is also the owner of the travel agency and one Sayed were absconding.

Hyderabad: The Special Operations Team of the LB Nagar Police on Tuesday raided Al-Hayath Tours and Travels at Malakpet and arrested four persons on charges of human trafficking after they allegedly tried to send a woman from Medipally to Muscat in Oman on a visitor visa instead of a work visa. Officials seized 40 passports, cash, mobile phones and other material from them.

The arrested persons were Shaik Mohammed Imtiyaz (35), N. Subbamma (27) both travel agents, G. Subba Rayudu (38), a driver, all from Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh, and Mohd Haroon (52) an office assistant at the travel agency in Malakpet. The MD of the agency, Mohd Naseer, and his daughter Sumaiaya Fathima (23), who is also the owner of the travel agency and one Sayed were absconding.

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Addressing a press conference here, Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat said Imtiyaz, Subbamma and Subba Rayudu had lured the victim, a native of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh, offering a job.

“A month ago, Imtiyaz fraudulently sent the victim’s maternal aunt Masthanamma through the manpower recruiting agency of Naseer. During this, he got acquainted with the victim who was into financial problems and since then, he was calling and offering her jobs in the Middle East,” Bhagwat said.

When the victim expressed her willingness to go abroad, he introduced her to Sayed, who collected her details including her passport. He then arranged a visa and booked a flight to Muscat last Tuesday, but due to family issues, she could not board the flight. Imtiyaz again approached the victim and convinced her to go abroad. But this time, instead of Sayed, he introduced Subbamma to her. Subbamma and Haroon arranged a visitor visa and flight tickets from Naseer on Sunday.

According to the police, the suspects got her Covid-19 test done at a hotel in Afzalgunj and advised her to reach the airport well in advance of the flight. During this, Imtiyaz allegedly misbehaved with her too.

“The victim reached the airport in time and before taking the boarding pass, the suspects issued different instructions to her asking to share her pictures to them on WhatsApp, after which only they would transfer a promised sum of Rs 30,000 to her kin’s account. She grew suspicious and escaped from the airport,” Bhagwat said, adding that she realized then that she was being sent to Muscat on a visitor visa instead of a work visa, which was illegal.

Police have found that based on instructions from Naseer, the suspects had collected passports from nearly 40 persons including 12 women promising to get them visas for different Middle East countries. Naseer and two other travel agencies in Kadapa were found to be involved in the racket, and were trafficking women to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Dubai and Qatar, Bhagwat said.

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