Thane: Navi Mumbai police rescued eight women after busting a sex trade with the arrest of a rickshaw driver, an official said on Saturday.

Police recently received a tip-off about a gang that was sending women to various lodges for prostitution after soliciting customers online, said Inspector Prithviraj Ghorpade of the anti-human trafficking cell of Navi Mumbai police.

With the help of a fake customer, they recently managed to arrest the auto driver, identified as Pradeep Yadav, who was ferrying the women to hotels, the official said.

Police first rescued a woman after Yadav’s interrogation. Based on the information she gave, they rescued eight women from a room in Shiravane in the Nerul area.

Police also arrested two men, identified as Vishnu alias Vikaskumar Janki Yadav (28), and Indrajit Indradev Prasad (63), he said.

The gang’s suspected leader, Shambu Upadhyaya, remains at large, the official said.

An FIR has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Turbhe police station, he added.