Busting a prostitution ring with 200 attendants

On December 30, a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department's Staff Department said that the Ho Chi Minh City Police Investigation Agency (PC02) had urgently arrested and detained 7 people, including: Zhang Lei (restaurant owner), Dinh Thi Thanh Tuyen, Nguyen Huu Chi, Nguyen Quoc Anh, Do Xuan Hoang, Le Thi Diem and Tran Thi Thuy Lieu for prostitution brokerage.

200 female flight attendants serving from A to Z

The case is the result of coordination between PC02, Immigration Management Department (PA08) and District 5 Police.

Accordingly, from information provided by the people, Department PC02 discovered many groups of foreigners operating as prostitution brokers, hiding under the guise of karaoke bars and restaurants with female attendants, then soliciting customers who want to buy sex.

According to the investigation, Fortune restaurant on Tran Hung Dao street, ward 5, district 5 is owned by Zhang Lei (48 years old, Chinese nationality). This person specializes in organizing complex prostitution brokerage activities.

Every day, the restaurant receives hundreds of customers who come to eat and buy sex with the restaurant's waitresses, mainly foreign customers (mostly Taiwanese, Chinese, Malaysian). There are about 200 female waitresses serving at the establishment.

The group operates with sophisticated tricks, hiding under the guise of an unlicensed restaurant and karaoke business, but behind that is a prostitution brokerage business. The price for prostitution ranges from 5 million VND/time to 12 million VND/time/night, providing services from A to Z.

Under the direction of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department, PC02 Department established a special project to concentrate forces to fight and eradicate. On December 17, PC02 Department coordinated with PA08 Department and District 5 Police to inspect the restaurant.

Illegal profit of 44 billion VND

Through inspection at the restaurant, many female attendants were discovered going out to sell sex to guests at hotels in District 5 such as: Phung Hoang, Valentine... Continuing to check at the hotels, 5 couples of men and women were discovered buying and selling sex.

Checking the restaurant's accounting system, it was determined that from February 2023 to December 2023, the restaurant owner (Zhang Lei) illegally profited from prostitution brokerage activities, an exceptionally large amount of money, about 44 billion VND.

Searching Zhang Lei's home, PC02 discovered that he was keeping a large amount of cash (over 21 billion VND). This was the money earned from prostitution brokerage through the disguised business of restaurants and karaoke.