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DUBAI - September 19 2004 Following the dramatic rescue mission from brothels operating from various villas and flats in different parts of the city, two more Keralite girls have managed to escape from the iron fish of the sex mafia who lure young girls from different districts in Kerala and trap them into the multimillion sex racket. According to sources, two Malayali ladies from Ernakulam and Trichur who were brought to work as housemaids here ended up in brothels run by a strong mafia. A 28 years old lady from Ernakulam and 23 years old Trichur girl will be repatriated to Kerala within two days after completing their formalities. These girls are currently under the custody of Indian Consulate General here which has a shelter home for ladies who face such problems.

Of late the Consulate General of India has become very active in rescuing girls trapped in sex rackets. Paradoxically enough, it is two Malayali ladies who have been running the brothels using innocent girls lured into the racket through an international network. The Ernakulam girl was brought to Dubai by one Usha from Kottayam (nick name Sona). It was Anitha from Ernakulam who handed over the Ernakulam girl to the sex racket.

Nisam alias Ajith from Kollam lured the Trichur girl to the Dubai flesh trade. One Bindu from Shanthinagar in Trichur was the original owner of a girl. It is learned that the lady middle women have handed over the passport and travel documents of many Keralite girls. A few members of the sex racket were taken into custody following the miraculous escape of another lady who lodged a formal complaint with the UAE Emigration authorities. It may be recalled that a qualified Physio therapist from Kerala had a miraculous escape from the sex mafia which thrive on political patronage and police negligence. While such sensational crackdowns keep happening once in a while, the sex trade in the Gulf region continues to thrive at unprecedented level.

A random survey of the flats and villas in the Niaf Road, Hamriya, Rashidiya, Satwa, Jumeira and other places in the UAE will reveal that such brothels are doing a roaring business. According to one customer in Diera, due to the recent crack down on sex racket, it is easy to go for home delivery. "At 10 o clock in the night, the girl is send to the doorstep of a customer and picked up in the morning. Since these girls are in the custody of customers living in decent residential areas, there is no worry about police raid. Even if there is a police raid, the ladies are released and the culprits are deported. Normally the sex mafia members travel on fake passports and it is difficult to get their real identity. Following the recent crackdown, some of the lady agents like Maya (Mobile Number 3491135), Geetha (8498433) and Ali (4767419) have already gone to Kerala.

"Many girls are trapped in this racket. Visa agents promise them jobs in tailoring shops, beauty parlours, hospitals and hotels. However, they end up in the hands of prostitution agents, who keep on changing them from one location to another. Their one night starts from 10 am to 6 pm and many girls ultimately resort to alcohol to keep their cool. "if a girl is beautiful, she will have to serve many customers a day. It ranges between 25 customers to even 100 on certain peak periods. In many cases, girls receive their customers after drinking liquor. There are cases were newly recruited girls have developed severe bleeding and hospitalization. The agents have a preference for teen age girls," added KM sources.

It is learned that thousands of innocent girls have been trapped in the sex racket, which is learned to be extended up to Israel. After the invasion of Iraq almost all the hotels and apartment homes have huge demand for good looking young girls. Even though it is not obvious, many marines and soldiers frequent the Gulf region to have some periodic enjoyment and fun. The sex trade in the region is closely related to the presence of large number of bachelors and married bachelors. Girls of all nationalities are available in the region and they cater to different category of customers. The so called tourism development in some countries is closely related to sex trade.

Naif Road in Diera is rife with many brothels. According to KM sources, there are many brothels in Hor Al Anz and adjacent residential areas. "Near the Epco Petrol Pump there is a building with parking space with two floors entirely devoted to brothels. In Diera near the Somali church there is another brothel. "I know a brothel in Diera run by a Malayali agent for the last twenty five years without any problem. He owns between 8 to 12 ladies to serve customers. He has got good connections and presents the girls to the right officials," says a regular customer. There are many brothels and pimps luring customers in the Diera area. The gold souq is also an open market place for flesh trade.

To maintain secrecy and lure customers, agents buy and sell the girls trapped in brothels. "Normally girls say that they are in changing period, which implies that their ownership is being shifted from one agent to another. If anything goes wrong during the changing period, the responsible agent has to pay Dhs.15,000 to the loser. If there is a police raid or successfully escape by a girl from the racket, the loss to the agent is estimated to be Dhs. 15,000 (More than 1.6 lakhs). The girls who come on visit or employment visas are traded and are taken to all the gulf countries.

Most of the Indian girls working in the sex trade have some Bombay experience. They come willingly to make more money. "They come one visit visa, work for four months and go back with a good amount. In many cases from Kerala, girls are trapped by a statewide nexus of agents and sub agents. Now that Dubai police is intensifying crackdown on brothels, many agents have vanished. They are in Kerala waiting to return after the raids," added sources. "There is a story of a Russian girl who was brought to Dubai to work in the trade and was caught by the police in a raid just one day after she started business. She was crying and pleading with the police, not to deport her. She spend huge amount of money to buy a visit visa from her aunty," said people working in the trade.

When flesh trade in the rest of the Gulf countries is going through a recession due to nationalization of work force, agents find it difficult to attract enough number of customers. The sex trade in Dubai is flourishing and the arrival of Chinese and Russian prostitutes in the market has affected the returns. A Chinese prostitute is available for a full night for just Dh.100 compared to Dhs.200 charged by Malayalai girls for a night. There are Russian, Arab, Pakistani and Iranian girls who are engaged in the trade. Many girls work in hotels and do part time outside. "Many residents of this building are working for a leading star hotel. After completing their duty in the hotel, they go out with their customers," said a source. Young beautiful Arab girls from other Gulf countries are costly and cater to the Arab and Western customers," said sources.

Even though Pakistanis and Irani girls are banned from going abroad to work as housemaids, some of the brothels have Pakistani ladies too. "While it is difficult to get a visa for a Pakistan woman, agents bring them in family visa, pretending to be husband and wife. This is a common practice followed by the sex traders to avoid other complications. One Malayali living opposite the Municipality Hospital sells his wife for a price. Rent a families or Rendee families are common scene among expatriates here. There are some so called families who make money through prostitution racket

Mobile phones are extensively used by the agents to lure customers. "They keep on calling us every day. Once they get one male customer, a link is established to lure his friends and colleagues. Mobile numbers are freely exchanged with loyal customers and their friends. Entry to certain areas is restricted with Dhs.10 and girls are lined up for exhibition. "By spending Dhs. we can do anything with these girls, except the actual intercourse. Some girls allow customers to take their photographs. With the use of camera phones they allow their photos to be taken.

. Girls approach the pedestrians and customers, ask them to give their mobile phone for making a miss call and feeds her phone number into their mobile. " I am available in this number. You can call me any time," she will say. Some of the Iranian girls look better than Indian film stars, says a regular visitor to the brothels. Pimps roam around in various parts of the city, especially near the Abra to woo potential customers. "Beautiful Iranian ladies will approach you offering all facilities in their private homes," added another customer.

On Fridays, the weekly off day, many construction workers visit Diera, Nair Road and other areas where the flesh trade is flourishing. While there are any number of small and medium sized hotels which parade girls and offer room and other facilities, some pimps lure customers from the streets. "Such people are dangerous because their agents may steal the customers purse and other valuables. However, customers visiting an established hotel don't have to worry about these problems. Construction workers roam around the area and by spending Dhs.10, they can mingle with girls of different nationalities.

Night Clubs and Star Hotels all thrive on sex centered entertainment. "One major hotel conducts periodic programme to entertain local customers who have strange sexual fantasies. For very old local customers who are unable to enjoy normal sex, hotels arrange special programmes. It is their fantasy to see youngsters making love. While the old man is unable to perform sex, he enjoys other paid youngsters doing it," added people in the industry. "Night clubs are bargaining points where the charges start from Dhs.30 onwards. It is mainly in Bur Dubai area that licensed night clubs and cabret Centers have mushroomed," added sources. Some of the pimps dealing with high profile customers make as high as Dhs.30,000 to Dhs.40,000 per month. Working women and call girls are also available in plenty. Many Europeans bachelors living in the city get monthly paid call girls. While girls charge different rates starting from Dhs.30 onwards, the high profile girls get a very high premium. They are also selective about the customers.

While one out of thousand cases is reported in the media or noticed by the authorities, majority of the cases go unnoticed. However, there are some good Keralites with moral and ethical standards who work to rescue girls trapped in sex racket. There is a young Keralite man whose mission is to visit various brothels, meet girls, hear their stories and aid them to escape. Almost all the recent arrests and escape from brothels resulted from the work of such a good Samaritan who prefers to remain anonymous. Flesh trade, the oldest industry in the world, is thriving under the guidance of many agents and sub agents who are broadly controlled by the Underworld dons. Despite the periodic crackdowns and media exposures, there is no end to this established business. What is to be ended is not the flesh trade but the trapping of innocent girls into the sex racket through cheating. And the UAE Government seems to be concerned about such cases.

Dubai and Muscat: Giving another sensational dimension to the growing sex trafficking from Kerala to various Gulf countries, two Malayali ladies from Trichur, were kidnapped and illegally kept in brothels. One of the girls was sold by a Malayali agent to another brothel just for Omani Rial 300 (Rs.35,000)! More

"After the first Asinet news about me, I was taken to the Police Station and to the Indian Embassy." Due to their threats and to escape from the place I told them "I have no problem." After the second Asianet News, they took me again to the police station and Indian Embassy . "I told one Malayali Indian Embassy official (Rahim) about all the problems and he told the problem to the Indian Ambassador. Next day my employer forced me to write a statement saying that I had no problem and this statement was given to the Indian Embassy." "Next day they made me read the same statement in front of a Video Camera. When I refused to make the statement in front of the camera, they threatened me with dire consequences-- I was told that throughout life, I would be put in prison in Oman. Full Report

Ahmedabad, Dec. 20 The Ahmedbad crime branch is cracking down an international prostitution racket with possible underworld links and arrested four persons on Wednesday. Some VIPs and prominent Indians in Muscat are allegedly part of the Middle East- India sex traffic syndicate. Even though some prominent Non Resident Indian name is made public by the police, KM is not publishing now. The VIP being monitored by the Gujarath police have close links with leading Gujarathi businessmen, hotel industry and bureaucrats. Full Report