The Judiciary Police (PJ), in conjunction with their counterparts in Hong Kong and mainland China, have dismantled a cross-border prostitution ring, resulting in the arrest of seven men and one woman, including the ringleader, along with nine women involved in prostitution and two male clients across various districts in Macau.
The PJ disclosed details yesterday regarding an investigation that led to the interception of 10 mainland Chinese women and six local male clients involved in prostitution at various hotels in the city’s NAPE and central districts since May.
Upon investigation, all the women were found to have originated from the same online solicitation platform. This website, controlled by three administrators, posted an average of 30 to 40 solicitation advertisements daily, utilizing virtual currency transactions to conceal fund flows.
In a joint operation conducted on Monday morning, police arrested a total of 17 individuals across three jurisdictions. In Macau, eight people were taken into custody, including seven local residents and one Vietnamese national.
Meanwhile, six mainland residents and one Macau resident were arrested in mainland China, and three Hong Kong residents linked to the recruitment of prostitutes and clients were apprehended. The suspects are believed to hold various roles within the operation, ranging from masterminds to key members and lower-level operatives.
During a press conference held yesterday, the PJ reported the arrest of 58 female sex workers and 44 male clients by police from three jurisdictions on Monday.
In Macau, nine female sex workers and two male clients were apprehended at four hotels in the NAPE area. Additionally, the PJ dismantled a warehouse used for storing prostitution paraphernalia, seizing a substantial cache of related items, including over 10,000 condoms, numerous disposable bed sheets, and more than 300 bottles of lubricants and massage oils.
The operation also resulted in the confiscation of one car, two motorcycles, and one bicycle.
The PJ revealed case details, noting that since January this year, the prostitution website concerned has posted at least 2,500 advertisements.
With a fee of RMB300 per advertisement charged to the prostitutes, the illicit profits are estimated to total around RMB50,000, equivalent to approximately MOP840,000.
Police recover lost items in two separate cases
The Public Security Police (PSP) have solved two cases of found-property misappropriation, arresting a local woman and a mainland Chinese man, recovering a total of around MOP16,000. In the first case, a woman in her 60s was caught after taking a wallet left on the street in early October, with MOP6,700 recovered. In the second case, a man in his 40s attempted to sell a tourist’s phone valued at about MOP10,000 after taking it to mainland China.
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