THANE: The police have busted a prostitution racket in Navi Mumbai, leading to the arrest of three persons and the rescue of five female individuals, including minor girls, an official said on Friday.

Those operating the illegal trade used to solicit customers online. The customers were told to book lodges in areas like Nerul, Vashi and Turbhe, where the accused used to send women and girls, the Navi Mumbai police said in a release.

The accused charged their customers Rs 4,000 per hour, it said.

Acting on input, police used a decoy customer to lay a trap at a hotel in Turbhe on July 8. After the accused sent a woman to the hotel, a team from the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell of the Navi Mumbai raided the place and rescued her, the release said.

Further investigation resulted in the rescue of four more women and girls from a flat in the Nerul area and the arrest of three persons, including the mastermind of the racket, a middleman and an autorickshaw driver who ferried the female victims to various hotels, the release said.

Police are now looking for three more accused, it said, adding that the arrested persons have been remanded in police custody till July 14.