Hong Kong police arrest 4 women in crackdown on vice syndicate bringing in mainland Chinese sex workers
- Local woman and three visitors from mainland arrested during police raid on three brothels in building on Mong Kok’s Nathan Road, force says
- Police say Hongkonger suspected of being core syndicate member, while mainlanders arrested over breaching conditions of stay
Hong Kong police have arrested four women in a crackdown on a prostitution syndicate that brought in sex workers from mainland China to work at brothels in Kowloon.
The four suspects – a local woman and three visitors from the mainland – were picked up on Wednesday night when officers raided the three brothels in a building on Mong Kok’s Nathan Road, the force on Thursday said.
“An initial investigation suggested the Hong Kong woman, 44, was an alleged core member of the syndicate,” police said.
She was detained on suspicion of controlling women for the purpose of prostitution and operating a vice establishment.
Officers arrested the three mainlanders, all women aged 25 to 42, for breaching conditions of stay.
During the operation, code-named “Stempicker”, police seized about HK$10,000 (US$1,280), along with items such as condoms and bottles of massage oil.
The suspects were still in police custody as of Thursday morning. Officers from Mong Kok’s special duties squad are following up on the case.
In Hong Kong, keeping a vice establishment is punishable by up to 10 years in jail under the Crimes Ordinance.
Last month, two sisters aged 15 and 16 from the mainland were arrested when police targeted brothels run by another prostitution ring in the city’s Yau Ma Tei area of Temple Street.
The pair were among seven travellers from the mainland and Thailand arrested in the anti-vice operation. Officers also picked up the alleged ringleader – a 55-year-old woman – and her male assistant.
Police figures show that 499 travellers were detained on suspicion of committing various offences between January and March this year, three times more than the 165 visitors caught during the first quarter of last year.
More than half, or 266 of the 499 arrested, were from the mainland, a six-fold increase from 37 in the same period last year.
The number of visitors from other countries arrested in connection with various crimes also rose by 82 per cent to 233 during the first three months of this year, up from 128 over the same period in 2022.
A police spokesman told the Post in June that the number of visitors arrested for committing crimes in the first quarter of this year had increased, but remained lower than during the same period in the year before the pandemic.
The force would closely monitor the trend and take appropriate action in a timely manner, including strengthening patrols in all areas, conducting targeted intelligence-led operations and promoting crime prevention, he said.
