The accused were produced before the chief metropolitan magistrate who remanded them in the police custody till May 15. (Representational image)

Kolkata: The detective department of the Kolkata police busted a sex racket at Kasba on Tuesday. The 16 persons arrested included nine men and six women, all aged between 16 to 25.

On April 20, Subhojit Bhattacharya (24), a resident of Raja Ram Mohan Sarani in Muchipara, lodged a complaint with the police after which the DD team raided a flat on the third floor at a housing apartment on Rajdanga Main Road in Kasba on Monday night and caught the sixteen.

Explaining the modus operandi of the gang, joint commissioner of police (crime) Vishal Garg said the accused used to give advertisements in leading dailies with two mobile numbers, offering to rope in escorts with an income between Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000, along with pick-and-drop facilities.

“Once a man called on one of those numbers, and he was asked to deposit multiple amounts for registration, medical examination fees, and commission for proposed income from a lady client. Next, the accused used to intimidate the caller by posing as police officers of cyber crime cell and threatening to arrest him for trying to establish illicit relationship with the ladies unless hefty ‘fines’ of Rs 20,000 were paid.”

During the raid, 53 mobile phones, 75 SIMs, two cordless handsets, rubber stamps of different companies and a vehicle were seized.

The accused were produced before the chief metropolitan magistrate who remanded them in the police custody till May 15.