A honeytrap gang with three women and two of their handlers have been arrested by the Kothanur police following a complaint from a trader.
The women - Shahina (40), Noori Alias Shama (35), Salma Parvin (27) - offered to perform sexual favours for the businessmen at home, while their male colleagues - Sajid Sheikh (38) and Syed Shariff (30) - would take pictures of the men in compromising positions and use it to demand money.
The gang threatened to go to the police if the men refused to pay the sums asked of them and it worked in most cases.
But their luck ran out when they trapped a fish vendor in Shivajinagar.
They demanded Rs 50,000 from the vendor and when he said he has only Rs 5,000 on him, they took the money and asked him to arrange the rest by the evening.
The vendor instead approached the police and lodged a complaint, following which the gang was arrested and booked on charges of abduction and blackmail. The police said the gang confessed to the crime.
The gang also told police that they have trapped several businessmen in recent times, who did not approach the police fearing exposure.
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