Police investigate suspected human trafficking | Princeton Herald

Four Collin County residents have been charged with human trafficking after at least 15 young women were discovered working in a Princeton rental property, police said.

Princeton Police Chief James Waters said the case began in March when officers responded to a report of suspicious circumstances at a home in the 1000 block of Ginsburg Lane.

According to an arrest warrant obtained by Fox 4 News, a pest control company contacted police after an exterminator noticed three to five young women sleeping on the floor in each room.

Detectives from the Princeton Police Department obtained a search warrant that led to the discovery of women who were allegedly forced to work for programming companies.

“I am extremely proud of my criminal investigation department and the investigation led by Sergeant Crawford,” Waters said.

Officials also confiscated laptops, mobile phones, printers and fake documents.

Crawford said at least 100 people were believed to be involved, and more than half of them were victims.

Waters said the investigation led to locations in Melissa and McKinney and to adult men he believes were engaged in forced labor. He said some of the workers have been in contact with family members and some are working with victim assistance programs.

“Melissa Police are aware of the incident and will work with neighboring agencies as necessary,” said Bridget Saxton, Melissa’s communications manager.

Waters said arrest warrants have been issued on charges of second-degree human trafficking under Section 20A.02 of the Texas Penal Code for 31-year-old Santhosh Reddy Katkoori of Melissa, his wife, 31-year-old Dwaraka Gunda, 24-year-old Chandan Reddy Dasireddy of Melissa and 37-year-old Anil Reddy Male of Prosper.

Collin County court records show Katkoori was arrested in March and Dasireddy in June. Both surrendered their passports pending their next court date.

“These workers were in the IT sector and this was not forced labor in any way,” said Jeremy Rosenthal, Katkoori’s lawyer.

Princeton police are taking a “shoot first, aim later” approach, the lawyer said.

“A simple example: They claim they seized computers, investigated the details of the operation and then made arrests. But they arrested Mr Katkoori on the same day they seized the computers – and just one day after the original complaint.”

Rosenthal added: “We are not privy to the details of the investigation, but I am sure we will find more inconsistencies because Santhosh is innocent of human trafficking. We are not going to try this publicly and just ask people to reserve judgment.”

Waters said the investigation, which involves several state and federal agencies, is ongoing.

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