July 1: An international human trafficking racket operating out of the city was busted on Thursday and two persons including a musician were arrested by the city police.

Seven passports, a laptop computer and copies of passports were seized from the accused. Investigations revealed that the duo had sent around 100 women from Andhra Pradesh and 50 women from Tamil Nadu and Mumbai to West Asia.

The two, Gopnathan Bala Marthanda, 42, a guitarist from Chennai and Kotla Somasekhar, 29, from Moosapet would illegally send women to Arab countries on the pretext of organising dance shows in hotels in Dubai. A year back Marthanda started his own nightclub at Dubai with one Krishna, named “Chennai Club” at Nova Hotel in Burdubai.

As the club was not doing well, Marthanda hatched a plan to traffic women to Dubai as members of his troupe. Somasekhar, who had many contacts in the real estate business, came into contact with Marthanda. Somasekhar then developed contacts with agents who supplied women to Dubai and Abu Dhabi namely Pappu Jinga, Kushal Shetty, Chappal Pappu, Sachin Settee and Naveen.

Marthanda was also introduced to them in Mumbai. Marthanda confined the women to rooms and allowed them out only during shows.