Police used radio jockeys to bust a sex racket in central Calcutta on Saturday night. Raids on two flats on Sarat Bose Road and in Chowringhee led to the arrest of 13 girls and four pimps.

The two radio jockeys had agreed to help the police crack down on prostitution in massage parlours, said Ajoy Kumar, the deputy commissioner of police (detective department).

The officers of the immoral trafficking section went through suggestive classified advertisements in newspapers and made the radio jockeys call up the mobile phone numbers provided.

“They pretended to be customers. The people we arrested did not entertain clients without a reference, but the radio jockeys managed to win their confidence. They were invited to the Sarat Bose Road apartment. Six detectives accompanied the duo,” added the deputy commissioner.

The detectives raided the flat within minutes of the radio jockeys going in. Eight girls and three pimps were netted.

Within half an hour, the detectives raided the Chowringhee flat and arrested five girls and a pimp.

“It was a major racket and had been thriving for eight months. This is the first time we have used radio jockeys to crack down on flesh trade rackets running in the name of massage parlours,” stated Kumar.

An officer who conducted the raids said on Sunday: “A couple of girls are from good families and had been a part of the racket for over six months. They were produced in Bankshal court today.”

During interrogation, the girls told the police that they were in the racket by choice. They said they wanted to earn money fast.

“The pimps would provide their mobile numbers in the advertisements so that people could contact them easily. They often promised to provide air hostesses and college girls to customers for Rs 5,000 for a night. They also provided girls on a hourly basis,” added the officer.

The racket operated through mobile phones and generally entertained only customers they knew. “We have obtained the names of their regular customers. Some of them are from good families,” said another officer.

Kumar said the crackdown on sex rackets in the guise of massage parlours would continue in the city. “Easy money and fast life are luring girls to these rackets. It is impossible for the police alone to root out this problem. People from all walks of life must come forward and help us,” he said.