Kolkata, Nov 7 (IANS) The officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are conducting raids at multiple locations in West Bengal since Friday morning in connection with an investigation into a major human trafficking racket that has tentacles throughout the state.

According to information available so far, parallel raid and search operations by the ED officials are taking place in at least six locations in different parts of West Bengal, with each team of the central agency being escorted by the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel.

One such location is the residence of a civil engineer at South Dum Dum on the northern outskirts of Kolkata. The other location is the Salt Lake residence of a businessman and owner of a number of bar-cum-restaurants in and around Kolkata.

Sources aware of the development said that the investigating officials of the ED suspect this businessman to be the main brain behind the human trafficking racket, where the bar-cum-restaurants owned by him are used to conduct this clandestine operation.

Sources said that simultaneous raids are also being conducted at the residences of two other businessmen, also in Salt Lake, in relation to the scam.

At the same time, another team of ED officials is conducting raids and search operations at the residence of a businessman at Siliguri in Darjeeling district in North Bengal.

It is learnt that the ED started the investigation in the matter based on several FIRs registered by Kolkata Police and West Bengal Police against the kingpins of this human trafficking racket.

The FIRs were registered under various Sections of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. Later, when the ED took over the investigation, it registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

It is learnt that the kingpins of the human trafficking racket used to lure vulnerable women with false employment promises and coerce them into prostitution to generate substantial proceeds of crime.

Subsequently, the proceeds of crime were diverted mainly through multiple shell companies.

–IANS

src/rad