PANAJI: Newton Muthuri Kimani, a Kenyan national who was in India on a student visa, has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection the trafficking of women from Kenya to India, the federal agency said in a statement on Thursday.

Kimani was arrested on December 9 and was remanded in ED custody till December 15, the statement said.

“ED investigation revealed that Newton Muthuri Kimani was managing multiple accounts in which certain amounts were being credited on behalf of various persons involved in running the immoral trafficking racket,” the agency said.

“This money generated through illegal means, was being transferred to Kenya and other countries through M-Pesa app, a mobile money transfer system developed by a Kenyan telecom company, and some foreign bank accounts with help of some suspected Hawala operators, ED said.

“Search operations were carried out in Gujarat and Punjab resulting in seizure of incriminating documents and digital devices,” the agency said in a statement on Thursday.

ED started its investigation after Goa’s Anjuna Police registered a case against two Nigerian nationals, identified by the police as Isralite alias Dorcast Maria (28) and Olokpa (22) for their alleged involvement in human trafficking.

ED said the accused brought “young African girls to Goa on the pretext of providing jobs in the Indian hospitality industry and force them into prostitution activities”.

In September based on a tip off from from Anyay Rahit Zindagi (ARZ) and NGO working with victims of trafficking who informed that women from Goa were being taken to cities like Bangalore for the purposes of prostitution, the police conducted raids at multiple locations in Anjuna leading to the arrest of five people.

“Young, educated, and vulnerable Kenyan women were falsely promised jobs in the hospitality industry by agents working on behalf of traffickers based in Goa. After being brought to India, the traffickers seized the women’s passports and visas, forcing them into prostitution under threat of violence and being told that they would have to cough up ₹5 to 8 lakh if they wished to return,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Jivba Dalvi, said.

“The racket, a close-knit group involving the trafficker duo Maria Dorcas and Wilkista, operated largely online, leveraging escort websites to solicit clients. Victims were in a terrible condition — in an unknown country without their documents, they were pushed into commercial sexual exploitation and when they did we are working with the victims so that they go back home safely and participate in the prosecution,” Juliana Lohar who works with ARZ, said.