Three persons were arrested and valuables worth Rs 6.2 lakh were seized during a raid at a gambling den in Maharashtra`s Latur district, police said on Saturday, reported news agency PTI.

Acting on a tip-off, a special team of the police conducted a raid in Wasangaon village on Latur-Ausa Road late on Friday night, an official said, reported PTI.

Valuables worth Rs 6.2 lakh were seized and three persons were arrested, while 10 others managed to flee the spot, he said, reported PTI.

A case has been registered under the Maharashtra Gambling Prevention Act and Indian Weapon Act against 13 persons involved in the illegal activity, the official said, reported PTI.

In another incident, the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) has been invoked against five robbers by the Latur police, an official said on Saturday, reported PTI.

The robbers are part of a gang involved in several crimes across the state, he said, reported PTI.

Acting on a tip-off, a police patrol team had busted the gang, comprising five adults and a minor, on May 15 when it was trying to rob an apartment in Latur, reported PTI.

A case was registered at Vivekananda Chowk police station in the city. During their probe, the police found that the gang had committed several serious crimes in Latur district and parts of Maharashtra, reported PTI.

A proposal was then sent to higher authorities to add MCOCA provisions in the chargesheet and permission was received recently, the official said, reported PTI.

MCOCA is a special law aimed at controlling criminal activities by organised crime syndicates or gangs. The police invoke it in many cases to ensure that the accused persons don`t get bail easily and remain behind bars for a long time, reported PTI.

Meanwhile, police have traced and rescued two girls more than a year after they went missing from central Maharashtra`s Latur district, an official said on Thursday, reported PTI.

The girls, aged 18 and 16, were rescued on Wednesday from Pune district, around 370km from Latur, where they were found living with some men, he said, reported PTI.

Based on separate complaints, three cases of abduction were registered at Shivaji Nagar, Udgir Rural and Ausa police stations of Latur district under IPC section 363 (kidnapping) last year, said the official, reported PTI.

Police formed multiple teams to trace the victims, reported PTI.

Anti-Human Trafficking Unit`s sub-inspectors Shamal Deshmukh and Subhash Suryawanshi, along with their team members, acted on inputs received from the cyber cell and traced the movements of these girls in Pune, Satara, Solapur and some villages bordering Karnataka, he said, reported PTI.

Two of them were subsequently traced and rescued from Pune district, said the official, adding they were brought back to Latur, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)

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