Texas welfare audit uncovers forced labor – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Responding to a call from social workers, Princeton police uncovered a major human trafficking operation in Collin County this spring.

Princeton police said officers were dispatched to a home in the 1000 block of Ginsburg Lane on March 13 after someone reported concerns about the residents’ welfare and a “suspicious circumstance.”

While investigating the report, Princeton police obtained a search warrant for the home of Santhosh Katkoori. Inside the home, police discovered 15 adult women who they said were forced to work for several front companies owned by Katkoori and his wife, Dwaraka Gunda.

Investigators said the victims, who included both men and women, worked as programmers and that several laptops, phones, printers and forged documents were seized during a search of the Ginsburg Lane home.

Princeton police said they later learned that several locations in the cities of Princeton, Melissa and McKinney were involved in the forced labor operation, and later seized additional laptops, phones and documents from other locations.

The addresses of these other locations or details about the nature of the programming work carried out for the couple’s alleged shell companies were not included in the police statement.

Princeton police said Monday that after investigators conducted an analysis of all seized electronic devices and confirmed the nature of the operation, they issued arrest warrants for four people who are now accused of human trafficking, a second-degree felony.

Police identified the suspects as 31-year-old Santhosh Katkoori of Melissa, 31-year-old Dwaraka Gunda of Melissa, 24-year-old Chandan Dasireddy of Melissa and 37-year-old Anil Male of Prosper. It is unclear if any of the four accused have an attorney to speak on their behalf.

Princeton police said additional charges are pending against several people involved while the investigation continues. Anyone with information about human trafficking or who has been a victim of human trafficking/labor trafficking is asked to call Princeton police at 972-736-3901 or dial 911 immediately.