Imphal, September 02 2017: Two women including an alleged key player of trafficking girls outside the country were held early today by Churachandpur police along with a van driver in an over-night operation conducted by its AHT unit and Women PS, followed by another woman involved in the same crime later today .
Three girls who were destined for Myanmar were rescued from the clutches of the alleged traffickers during the operation that the police said commenced around 6 pm yesterday and concluded at about 3 in the morning today .
Addressing the press today, Churachandpur SP Rakesh Balwal said the police have been keeping a sharp eye on the trail of the illegal practice ever since they were approached by relatives of some of the past victims.
Following inputs about an imminent movement of the traffickers, a dedicated police team mounted a vigil since last night to nab them.
At about 2.30 am the suspects appeared as anticipated.
The waiting police team then swung into action, intercepting the EECO van along with the girls in their custody .
The arrested driver has been identified as Lunkhosat Haokip of Canan Veng, Tuibong while the two women are identified as Esther Lalpianmawii, 32 of Thangkangphai and Lalngaihawmi, 32 also from Thingkangphai village.
The involvement of Esther according to the SP has been a known fact and her accounts after obtaining the required remands from Court will be crucial to further exposing the ‘trade.’
Detailing about the traffickers’ modus operandi, Balwal said they would first persuade the family to part with their girls on the promise of providing them jobs.
Thereafter they would pay the family Rs 10,000 each just before taking them to the border town of Moreh.
There the local traffickers will trade them to their contacts in Myanmar for Rs 90,000 each.
From Moreh, the girls are taken to Yangon where they are reportedly sorted out depend- ing on their appearances and supposedly trained to be maids or masseurs .
They are then smuggled to Singapore or other countries with fake documents arranged by their handlers.
Cases of the girls making contact with their family back home appears to be highly regulated as it happens rarely and are typically in text messages that are often of desperate cries .
The SP also sought the assistance of people from all walks of life, including the media, to help thwart such immoral and illegal trade in society .
The three arrested individuals were produced before the Duty Magistrate Churachandpur and the Court remanded them to police custody for 10 days till September 11 .
As follow up action, Churachandpur district police and Anti Human Trafficking Unit of the district arrested one more child trafficker and also recovered the identity cards of adolescent girls, mostly those trafficked, from the house of the main accused.
Sources said that the fourth child trafficker, Chingsuanching (37) w/o Kamsuankhai of Khominthang of New Lamka, Churachandpur, was arrested based on the revelation of one of the victims .
The sources further stated that numerous identity cards of minor girls, mostly those trafficked, were recovered from the residence of the main accused/agent Esther Lalpianmawii.
Source: The Sangai Express
