Noida: Noida police raided a spa centre running a prostitution racket out of a mall in sector-61 and detained 23 people, 10 of whom have been arrested. Police also recovered marijuana and both used and unused contraceptives from the centre. The raid was conducted around 8pm after police received a tip-off about illegal activities at the centre. Noida police used decoy customers to catch the perpetrators red-handed.

“The owner, two managers, including a woman, seven customers and 13 women working at the centre were found at the time of the raid. The workers were rehabilitated in a women’s shelter home. The 10 others were booked and sent to jail,” said Rajneesh Verma, assistant commissioner of police, zone 1. Police said the spa centre had been running in the mall for the last two years. It was using online advertisements and word of mouth to bring in customers. The suspects don’t have any prior criminal history, said police.

None of the workers working at the centre were underage, said police. Most of them are from Delhi, Noida and Nepal. Police said those originally from Nepal are living in Delhi for the past few years. All the workers said the owner and the managers of the spa centre forced them into sex work for money.Officials from the anti-human trafficking unit lodged a complaint at Sector-58 police station. A case was registered against the suspects under section 370B of the IPC and relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and Prevention of Human Trafficking Act.

“There are four more spas in the mall. Though no suspicious activity has been reported from any of them, they are still on our radar. We will also check if anyone from the mall management was involved and take necessary action,” said Kumar Ranvijay Singh, additional deputy commissioner of police, zone 1. Police said they are also looking for other customers visiting the spa centres. Teams have been formed to check for illegal activities in the area.

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