Bhubaneswar: Involvement of foreign nationals in flesh trade in the city continues to flourish with the police catching eight Thai nationals during a raid at a spa in Bapuji Nagar on Saturday.

The police said they would summon the owner of the building where the spa was in operation for the past three years.

In addition to pimps, who procure foreign nationals for running sex trade, sources said a number of spa owners had also started hiring woman, especially from Thailand, to make a quick buck.

"Most of the Thai women engaged at various massage centres work without any valid contract and salary slips. These women usually come to Bhubaneswar with tourist visas and earn in lakhs in the illegal trade in a few months. Since they are engaged without contract, it gets difficult for us to prove the violation of visas," said a police official.

Sources said that a number of Thai women are also hired by the more than 20 spas operating in various renowned hotels and other posh areas.

"Unlike sex workers from east European countries who charge more, the Thai women charge comparatively less. The spa owner, Sanjay Rana, 35, told us that he used to make a profit of around Rs 2 lakh every month despite paying a monthly rent of Rs 3 lakh to the house owner," said the police official.

Deputy commissioner of police, Bhubaneswar, Anup Kumar Sahoo said they would shortly write to the Thailand embassy in New Delhi intimating about the eight women.

"We are also investigating further to find out whether the spa manager had hired other foreign nationals in recent past," said Sahoo.

The eight women, all of them in their twenties, are now lodged at a short stay home in Jatni on the city outskirts.

This is the second incident of a sex racket bust in the city involving Thai nationals. Earlier, three women from Thailand were caught along with two other women on November 17 last year during a raid on a Thai spa at Kharavela Nagar.

The three Thai nationals were later deported to their country.