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Police have dismantled a transnational prostitution syndicate that lured Southeast Asian women to Hong Kong and forced them into unpaid sex work, leading to the arrest of 20 people.
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Sham Shui Po District Police, who executed the operation, noted that the syndicate, which utilized a compatriot network in Southeast Asia, offered to cover the victims' travel and accommodation costs to Hong Kong.
However, upon their arrival, victims were forced to perform 30 to 45 unpaid sexual services to clear their travel debt before they could earn any income, which was then subject to a split with the syndicate.
Two key syndicate members have been charged with trafficking persons to or from Hong Kong and living on the earnings of the prostitution of others. Their cases were heard at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on Tuesday morning.
Investigations revealed that the syndicate rented three tenement building units in Sham Shui Po and Tsuen Wan, converting them into subdivided flats to operate as brothels.
The authorities also froze over HK$10 million in crime proceeds which . An investigation by the police revealed that after collecting the prostitution earnings, key members of the syndicate laundered the money by depositing the cash into other members' bank accounts.
Over the past few years, the accounts involved have laundered more than HK$10 million. The police will continue to trace the flow of funds and hunt for the other members still at large. Further arrests have not been ruled out.
