Eighteen women, including 16 from Nepal, who were part of a prostitution racket were rescued in New Delhi, police said today. Based on a tip-off, Varanasi Crime Branch and the Delhi Police jointly raided a house under Vasant Vihar police station limits in Delhi on Tuesday.

The police said the women were confined to the house for the past few days and were soon going to be trafficked to Gulf countries. The police also arrested three men. The Nepali women were lured with the promise of jobs and were first brought to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, said the police official.