Police said on Tuesday 20 people were arrested in a recent crackdown on a transnational prostitution ring.

The syndicate, active in Sham Shui Po and Tsuen Wan, allegedly trafficked women from Southeast Asia to Hong Kong and controlled them for prostitution.

Investigations showed that core members of the prostitution ring included Southeast Asians who had resided in the SAR for many years and used their personal networks and language skills to recruit the women, senior inspector Lam Wa-yan said.

“The syndicate provided the women with travel expenses and accommodation, but the women, in exchange, had to offer 30 to 45 unpaid sexual services,” she said.

“Only after completing this unpaid service period could they earn income through prostitution, splitting their earnings with the syndicate on a 50:50 basis.

“Such an approach kept these women under the control of the ring upon their arrival in Hong Kong and enabled the syndicate to make huge profits.”

The suspects – a man and 19 women aged between 20 and 86 – were arrested on suspicion of various crimes including trafficking in persons to or from Hong Kong, control over persons for prostitution, managing a vice establishment, living on earnings of prostitution of others and money laundering.

Two of them – believed to be core members of the syndicate – were charged and appeared at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday.

Sixteen others will appear in court on Wednesday on suspicion of breaching their conditions of stay, while the other two will be released on bail.

Lam said officers also seized around HK$100,000 in cash and froze more than HK$10 million in suspected crime proceeds.

Police did not rule out making further arrests.



Edited by Edmond Fong