Panaji: The enforcement directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet against four foreign nationals in a money laundering case pertaining to an alleged international prostitution racket wherein girls from African countries were trafficked to Goa under the pretext of employment.

The charge sheet has been filed before the North Goa District and Sessions Court against Dorcast Maria alias Isralite alia Dorcas Ayako Ouma, Wilkista Achista alias Aisha, Newton Kimani and Hellen Kimaro. The next hearing in the case is slated for March 6.

Last year, the ED had initiated an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Anjuna police against two Nigerian women, Maria and others in connection with a case of immoral human trafficking.

According to the ED, the accused used to bring young African girls to Goa on the pretext of providing jobs in the hospitality industry and then force them into prostitution activities.

In December last year, the agency had arrested Kimani, a Kenyan national staying in India on a student visa, for his alleged involvement in the prostitution racket.

Investigation revealed that Kimani was managing multiple accounts in which certain amounts were being credited on behalf of various persons involved in running the immoral trafficking racket, the ED had said. This money, generated through illegal means, was being transferred to Kenya and other countries through an app and some foreign bank accounts with the help of some suspected ‘hawala’ operators.

During a search operation in Anjuna, Kenyan national, who was forced into immoral trafficking, was rescued along with another Kenyan girl. Further, three more search operations were carried out in Gujarat and Punjab, resulting in seizure of incriminating documents and digital devices.