A disturbing pattern is emerging from Kerala’s cities where young women, especially students and IT professionals staying in hostels, are increasingly falling prey to a deadly nexus of love-narcotic jihad and sex trafficking. The latest case to send shockwaves across the state unfolded in Ernakulam, where police busted an immoral trafficking center operating near the South Railway Station.
During the raid conducted yesterday, six young women were rescued, many of whom had been lured through false promises of love, drugged, and then forced into prostitution. The kingpin behind the racket, Akbar Ali, a native of Mannarkad, has been arrested along with three others in coordinated operations led by the Elamakkara and Kadavanthra police in Ernakulam district.
Investigations reveal a deeply sinister modus operandi. Akbar Ali posed as a friendly youth and slowly gained the trust of young women, especially Plus Two students and tech workers, by befriending them in malls and cafes. Once emotional bonds were established, he introduced them to drugs, captured intimate photos and videos, and gradually coerced them into sexual slavery. Many victims were blackmailed with these visuals to prevent escape or resistance.
The immoral center was operating from a rented house near Ernakulam South railway station, disguised under the cover of a private institution with a nearby tea stall acting as a front. The house was one of multiple branches run by the racket, with online platforms and fake massage centers used to advertise the women. Police recovered several photos of victims from the accused’s phone and suspect that minor girls were among the exploited. A case under the POCSO Act is likely to follow.
The route into exploitation often began under the guise of romantic relationships, where victims were initially approached by men who posed as caring partners. This form of targeted entrapment, love jihad, was followed by systematic exposure to narcotic substances, which broke down resistance and increased dependency. Once addicted and compromised, the women were dragged into sex work and stripped of their autonomy.
These immoral centers were also used to traffic women brought in from other states, further revealing an interlinked web of cross-border trafficking and ideological radicalisation. The luxury cars, fake identities, and 24/7 shop fronts provided cover for this expanding underground network.
The operation was cracked based on intelligence inputs about a prostitution racket operating in Edappally in Ernakulam district. While Akbar Ali was initially caught there, he revealed under interrogation that a second hub existed near Ernakulam South Railway Station. Police raids at this site led to the dramatic rescue of the six women and the exposure of a highly organised sex racket operating under the influence of ideological motives.
Shockingly, police estimate that over 100 such immoral centers are operating in Ernakulam town alone. Far more alarming is the number of individuals involved in these operations, more than a thousand Akbar Alis, according to reports, posing as lovers and friends while systematically destroying lives. These men exploit love, manipulate trust, use narcotics to enslave, and run sex rackets with impunity.
This case has highlighted how love jihad, narcotic jihad, and organised prostitution are not isolated crimes but deeply connected strategies that target young, vulnerable women, especially those who move to urban areas for education or employment.
The investigation is ongoing, and further arrests are expected as the police unravel what could be one of the largest and most ideologically motivated sex trafficking networks in the state.
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