BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Call over bedbugs helps expose alleged trafficking ring: Report

  • Pest control technician was called to house in Texas
  • He tipped off cops after seeing '3-5' women in each room, little furniture
  • Police say women forced to work for Santhosh Katkoori, Dwaraka Gunda

(Getty Images)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

(NewsNation) — A pest control company employee treating a Texas house for bedbugs tipped police off to what authorities say is a human trafficking operation, according to local news reports. 

After getting a call about the bedbugs at a house in Princeton, the technician arrived to the residence where he was greeted by young men who showed him around, CBS Texas reported. 

Each bedroom had three to five women were sleeping on the floor, the technician said, and there were  “a large amount of suitcases” in open areas of the house — but no furniture except folding tables and air mattresses.

The technician notified police of what he saw, and Princeton officers were dispatched to the home in March 2024 for a welfare check. 

While investigating the initial report further, police got a search warrant for the residence, which they identified as Santhosh Katkoori’s, and found 15 women living there. 

These women, police said, were forced to work for Katkoori and his wife, Dwaraka Gunda, both 31. 

Electronics, including laptops, cell phones, printers, as well as “fraudulent documents” showed that multiple locations within Princeton, Melissa, and McKinney were involved in the “forced laboring of the victims,” according to police. 

Katkoori, Gunda, Chandan Dasireddy, 24 and Anil Male, 37, were charged with trafficking of persons, a second-degree felony, in connection to the probe.

Further charges could be coming for multiple people as the investigation continues, police said. 

CBS Texas writes the suspects have been released on bond, with Katkoori requesting permission to travel the country on business.

Lt. Jesus Rodriguez told the station that since this is the Princeton Police Department’s first case like this, it is receiving help from the Department of Homeland Security.

Rodriguez said what happens to the victims will now be up to the courts, per CBS Texas. 

Crime

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Sunny

la

67°F Sunny Feels like 67°
Wind
8 mph W
Humidity
26%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
47°F Clear skies. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
6 mph NNW
Precip
0%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous