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A trafficking operation in Texas came to light when the Princeton police department received a tip from a pest control worker who had gone to exterminate a house on Ginsburg Lane. The result was the police busting a major forced labour trafficking ring operating in Collin County and allegedly beyond. Four Indian-origin individuals have been charged until now read more
 "What is the Princeton human trafficking racket in Texas that has a link to India?")
Chandan Dasireddy, Dwaraka Gunda, Santhosh Katkoori and Anil Male have been charged with Trafficking of Persons, Second Degree Felony as the investigation continues. Princeton Police Department
In Princeton, North Texas, a human trafficking case has come to light, involving four individuals accused of forcing women into labour under the guise of computer programming internships.
The suspects, including a couple and two other men, have been charged with second-degree human trafficking after authorities discovered 15 women living in poor conditions and working for shell companies. Indian-origin individuals – Santhosh Katkoori, Dwaraka Gunda, Chandan Dasireddy, and Anil Male were charged on July 8.
According to US court documents obtained by Dallas-based television station WFAA, three of the four suspects claim to be citizens of India.
How was the trafficking operation discovered?
The case began when a local pest control company received a call to treat a two-story brick house on Ginsburg Lane for bedbugs. The technician noticed young men showing him around the house where three to five women were sleeping on the floor in each bedroom.
The house had minimal furniture, consisting only of folding tables, air mattresses, and numerous suitcases in open areas.
Acting on a tip from the pest control company about suspicious behaviour, Princeton police conducted a welfare check on March 13 and found 15 women, all between the ages of 23 and 26, living inside the home.
How was the trafficking operation being run?
According to arrest affidavits and police statements, the women were under the impression they were participating in internships to learn Java scripting or computer programming.
However, these internships were a façade. The women applied for jobs and, once hired, their salaries were paid to a company run by Katkoori and Gunda, who took a 20 per cent cut before passing the remainder to the women.
Princeton police chief James Waters told local media, “In my 20 years of being in Princeton, there is nothing of this magnitude that has happened or anything along these lines that I’m aware of.”
The investigation revealed that the operation potentially involved around 100 victims and had been ongoing for three to five years. Multiple locations in Princeton, Melissa, McKinney, and other areas in Collin County were involved.
What arrests have been made?
On July 8, Santhosh Katkoori, 31, Dwaraka Gunda, 31, Chandan Dasireddy, 24, and Anil Male, 37, were formally charged with second-degree human trafficking.
Police obtained search warrants for the residence and discovered multiple laptops, cell phones, printers, and fraudulent documents. These items were seized and are being studied by the US Department of Homeland Security.
Additional laptops, cell phones, and documents were seized from the other locations, said a Princeton PD press release, as it was later determined that multiple locations within Princeton, Melissa, and McKinney were involved in the forced labouring of the victims, including adult males.
According to the affidavits, the women told police that Dasireddy had picked them up from an airport for what they believed was an internship to learn JavaScript coding.
Instead, they were forced to work for multiple programming shell companies owned by Katkoori and Gunda, living in poor conditions, sleeping five to eight to a room on mats, blankets, or a single air mattress.
How have legal proceedings gone?
The suspects, who have been released on bond, face charges that carry a potential penalty of two to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Katkoori’s attorney, Jeremy Rosenthal, disputed the police claims of forced labour, telling local media, “These workers are in the IT field and nothing about this is forced labour. Princeton police department has taken a ‘shoot first, aim later’ approach.”
Rosenthal stated that the arrests were made hastily. “As a simple example, they claim to have seized computers, studied the details of the operation, then made arrests. But they arrested Katkoori on the same day they seized computers — and only a single day after the original complaint.”
He maintained that his client is innocent of human trafficking and expects more inconsistencies to emerge as the case proceeds.
Is the investigation over?
The Princeton police department, with assistance from state and federal agencies, continues to investigate the case. Police suspect that there are other houses in the area linked to this trafficking operation and more victims yet to be identified.
Lt. Jesus Rodriguez from the Princeton police department was quoted by CBS news, saying: “It’s very new to us, so we’re working through it,” highlighting the department’s first encounter with a case of this nature.
The women found in the Ginsburg Lane house have been provided with assistance, but their future remains uncertain as it will be determined by the courts. Additional charges against multiple parties are pending as the investigation continues to unfold.
With inputs from agencies
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English (US) ·