Hong Kong police arrest 38 people in alleged Kowloon West prostitution ring

Police arrested 38 people in connection with a prostitution ring that allegedly operated in three-star hotels in Kowloon West, making some HK$180,000 a day.

The arrests included a Hong Kong woman who allegedly ran her own "room service", providing towels and daily necessities for mainland prostitutes to avoid arousing the suspicion of hotel managers, according to police. Another Hong Kong woman allegedly offered make-up services.

The others - one man and 36 women - included 34 suspected prostitutes from the mainland.

Last night, police were searching for their ringleader, who they said probably controlled the illegal business from the mainland.

During the operation, police seized HK$180,000 from a mainland couple when they tried to deposit the money into a mainland bank account through a cash remittance shop in Mong Kok yesterday.

"We believe the sum was their daily income. The syndicate remitted money into their bank accounts on the mainland every day," Chief Inspector Cheng Dien-kit of the Kowloon West regional crime unit said.