Kolkata Police have arrested three men, including two scions of reputed business houses, on the charge of blackmailing, and found in their possession videotapes of intimate moments of 182 women.

The videotapes were allegedly recorded by the two members of business families over a period of seven years, a senior police official said on Thursday.

The third person arrested was an employee of one of the two, who used to call a potential victim and extort money by blackmailing her to release the intimate videotapes on the internet, the IPS officer said.

He said Anish Loharuka - a member of a family owing several hotels - and his friend Aditya Aggarwal - a scion of a popular ethnic wear chain - had started recording such videos since 2013.

“First, they used to befriend a woman and then develop physical relationship with her. During intimate moments, they recorded photographs and videos and preserved them on computers. After sometime, they came out of the relationship. Their main intention was to squeeze money from these women,” he said.