Kowloon West Region police arrested 29 people over two days in an investigation into an alleged cross-border prostitution ring active in Yau Ma Tei. Police said the arrests included eight alleged core members and 21 sex workers.
Police described the group as locally controlled and said it arranged for women to travel from the mainland to Hong Kong by high-speed rail, then stay in tenement flats for prostitution. Members allegedly organised the accommodation and supplies, including condoms and towels, while others maintained the flats, kept watch and approached customers on the street.
Police said customers were openly solicited on the street and charged HK$300 to HK$400 per encounter. Sex workers were allegedly required to hand over part of their daily earnings to group members.
Police estimated the group’s proceeds at about HK$1 million a month. Officers reported seizing HK$140,000 in cash and freezing HK$700,000 in suspected criminal proceeds.
The arrests followed searches of several premises on October 13, including eight in Yau Ma Tei, when police arrested the eight alleged core members and 12 sex workers. In a follow-up operation the next day, nine women were arrested and referred to the Immigration Department.
Police said those arrested were suspected of offences including trafficking people into or out of Hong Kong, controlling others’ prostitution, keeping a vice establishment, living on the earnings of prostitution and money laundering. At the time of the report, the 20 people arrested on October 13 remained in police detention.