Hong Kong police have arrested 65 people including several Japanese sex workers and porn stars in an joint operation with authorities in Singapore, Japan, and Macau against a cross-border vice syndicate.
The force said on Thursday that five men and 60 women, aged 17 to 64, had been arrested in a three-day operation targeting a criminal group suspected of controlling Japanese sex workers – including Japanese porn actresses – and also targeting another group backed by a local triad.
Police earlier discovered that a syndicate controlled by Hong Kong residents had recruited Japanese sex workers to come to the city for prostitution, Chief Inspector Tang Hoi-tung of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau told a press briefing.
“The group attracts attention by promoting [Japanese] porn actresses who are somewhat famous, saying they could arrange for their sex services in [Hong Kong] hotels,” Tang said in Cantonese, adding that each transaction ranged from thousands to several thousand Hong Kong dollars.
Some porn actresses had held “fan meetings” in the city and could charge up to HK$150,000 for sex services, Tang said.
The group’s partners in Japan recruited the women to come to Hong Kong, and local syndicate members would arrange their hotel accommodation, Tang said, adding that the income would be split equally between the sex workers and the group.
Hong Kong police also found that the group had sent Japanese sex workers to Singapore and Macau.
The force initiated an operation with the Singapore Police Force, Japan’s National Police Agency, and Macau’s Judiciary Police to target the group’s cross-border activities.
Among those arrested in Hong Kong were seven core members of the syndicate and three Japanese sex workers on suspicion of “living on earnings of prostitution of others” and “controlling persons for prostitution.”
The group’s leader – a woman – and two other core members were also suspected of money- laundering involving a sum of HK$19 million.
Singapore police arrested three core members and one Japanese sex worker, while Japanese forces were still conducting their operation.
Tang said the group had operated for a year and raised around HK$20 million.
Senior Inspector Yuen Ming-lok told the briefing that some social media platforms had been used similarly to arrange for sex workers from different countries to come to the city.
These platforms only interacted with regular customers, which increased the difficulty of police action, Yuen said.
However, the force raided 10 premises linked to these platforms and arrested 25 women, aged 20 to 45, who were suspected of keeping a vice establishment and breaching conditions of stay. These women included three locals, as well as individuals from Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, and Laos.
Separately, the force investigated a vice syndicate backed by a local triad, said Chief Inspector Yam Suet-ying. This syndicate began operations three months ago and rented over 20 premises in busy districts such as Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui.
Each transaction ranged between HK$500-2,000, and the monthly revenue reached HK$1.5 million.
Police arrested 30 people in total on Tuesday and Wednesday. Some of those arrested held foreign passports.
Yam warned that organised prostitution was a serious crime. Living on the earnings of prostitution of others and keeping a vice establishment are punishable by up to 10 years in jail, while controlling persons for prostitution could result in up to 14 years’ imprisonment.
Vice syndicates had grown in sophistication, Yam said, but she added that police were determined and capable of targeting their operations.
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