Four Indians were arrested in Princeton, New Jersey, on human trafficking charges. Following up on a welfare call, the authorities uncovered a forced labour operation running out of Collin County. Though the arrests were made earlier this year in March, the Princeton Police Department is now releasing details of the investigation.
Cops uncover forced labour operation in New Jersey, four Indians arrested
On March 13, the police responded to a call citing welfare concerns and a “suspicious circumstance” at a home on the 1000 block of Ginsburg Lane. According to an affidavit, the pest control company that inspected the house for possible bed bugs informed the authorities that “each room… had 3-5 young females sleeping on the floors.”
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Princeton Police Sgt. Carolyn Crawford said that over a dozen people are involved in the forced labour scheme. “I can probably say over 100. Easily,” she said, adding that more than half of them are victims, per Fox 4. Four Indians- Chandan Dasireddy, 24, Dwaraka Gunda, 31, Santhosh Katkoori, 31, and Anil Male, 37, were arrested and charged with trafficking of persons.
The police further said that the victims included both men and women who were working as programmers. Although the authorities didn’t reveal the exact nature of the alleged shell companies, they seized multiple laptops, phones, printers, and fraudulent documents while searching the house.
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Princeton Police Chief James Waters, who had been working on this case for several months, said, “How we came across this situation was very unique,” adding, “They would unravel just a multitude of other clues and a multitude of other scenes that was going out there.” They later learned of several other locations in the cities of Princeton, Melissa, and McKinney with forced labour operations.