Police blocked, removed 512 URLs advertising escort services: CM

Povorim: Chief minister Pramod Sawant told the state assembly during the recently concluded session that cyber police blocked and removed 512 website URLs advertising escort services in Goa, and the action continues. None of these websites are being operated from Goa, but from West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and even Kenya, he said.

Sawant gave the information in response to a calling attention motion tabled by opposition leader Yuri Alemao, Altone D’Costa, Carlos Ferreira, Vijai Sardesai, Venzy Viegas, Cruz Silva, and Viresh Borkar, pointing out rising commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. “Sex trafficking problem in Goa is not as big as it looks. It is used more for cyberfraud,” Sawant said, adding that he asked the home and tourism departments to act nonetheless. The social media monitoring cell of the cybercrime unit, he said, is actively monitoring those websites.

Between 2024 and 2026, a total of 18 cases were registered under the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act, 39 accused were arrested, and 52 victims were rescued. Sawant also said govt is giving special focus to tracing missing children. Out of 150 missing children reported between 2024 and 2026, 140 were traced, he said.

The opposition leader said police should dismantle the network and catch kingpins involved in commercial sex trafficking who are never caught. “It’s only traffickers who get caught. Zeroing in on the kingpins never happens. The traffickers became faceless as most operate online,” he said. Alemao pointed out that neither a panchayat nor the tourism department revokes a licence of a hotel or guest house caught red-handed.

Aldona MLA Ferreira also said that govt must trace the source of the website, while Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas said it is a shame that Goa tops the nation with the highest trafficking rate.

Velim MLA Cruz Silva sought to know whether the belly dancer who performed at the Arpora club during the fire incident, and other foreign nationals employed in the hospitality industry have work visas, suspecting that some of them may have been trafficked.