Guangdong and Hong Kong police arrested more than 250 suspects on
Tuesday in a joint campaign against organized cross-border
prostitution.
According to police from Guangdong Province, the criminal gang was
allegedly headed by Zheng Huiqiang, a member of a secret society in
Hong Kong called 14K. The secret society controlled most of
brothels in eastern Kowloon and Monk Kok.
Leading members of the gang colluded with criminals in Huizhou,
Shanwei, Shenzhen and Zhuhai, all in Guangdong Province. They sent
young women to Hong Kong by cheating, luring or coercing them. The
women were forced to become prostitutes in brothels run by 14K.
Tuesday's arrests followed a careful investigation of about three
months by Guangdong and Hong Kong police.
In
Shenzhen, 41 suspects were arrested, including 23 alleged members
of Hong Kong secret societies and 15 locals. Chief suspect Zheng
Huiqiang and 212 other suspects were arrested in 49 brothels in
Hong Kong.
Hong Kong police also froze a total of HK$80 million (US$10
million) in cash and other assets such as buildings owned by
alleged members of the criminal gang.
According to the police, the suspects in Hong Kong and Guangdong
smuggled the women to Hong Kong by sea or land or used fake
passports and travel documents to get the women through
customs.
In
Hong Kong, the women were forced to take part in pornographic
pictures or videos and then become prostitutes in brothels.
Most of their income was taken by the criminal gang, which got tens
of millions of Hong Kong dollars every month.
Any woman who refused was beaten, locked up and even raped. The
women's health deteriorated and some of them suffered mental
disorders.
Guangdong police said the "successful destruction" of the large
cross-border criminal gang, in conjunction with Hong Kong police,
showed the strong determination of both sides to crack crime.
An
official from the Guangdong Public Security Bureau, who refused to
give his name, said: "We will strengthen our cooperation in
seriously cracking cross-border crime in Guangdong Province and
Hong Kong and create good public order in both places."
(China
Daily May 9, 2002)