Hundreds arrested as Chinese police bust international WeChat vice ring
Chinese authorities have broken up an international prostitutionring that used the popular social media service WeChat to run itsbusiness.
A total of 349 people were arrested and more than 32 millionyuan (US$5 million) seized from the gang in the southern megacityof Shenzhen, news website Oeeee.com reported on Tuesday.
The gang operated in mainland China and Malaysia and itsbusiness was largely conducted through WeChat, China』s most popularsocial media platform, according to a statement by Shenzhen policeon Saturday that first disclosed the arrests.
Transaction records showed the ring earned 100 million yuan lastyear.
It is one of China』s biggest cases of online organised crime, asthe use of technology by criminal gangs increases.
The case first came to the authorities』 attention in Septemberwhen the Ministry of Public Security ordered the Shenzhen police toinvestigate a gang that was suspected of sending Chinese women toMalaysia to work as prostitutes and run brothels there.
After a three-month investigation, Shenzhen police identifiedtwo alleged ringleaders, identified only by their surnames Li andLiu, from southern Hunan province.
The gang used a complex structure, moving many of its operationsto Malaysia to avoid detection by the Chinese police.
According to the report, 32-year-old Li is accused of setting upa fake technology company in Changsha, the capital of Hunanprovince, as a front for the gang』s operations.
Li and Liu are accused of controlling online cash transactionsthough five WeChat accounts and developing an app within theplatform that allowed them to run brothels in Malaysia.
The gang also used bank accounts opened by Malaysians in Chinato withdraw and transfer money.
The vice ring is thought to have been operating in the southernprovince of Guangdong since 2015 before expanding intoMalaysia.
The gang tried to drum up business in Malaysia by pretendingthat the woman were actresses and models in China and created fakewebsites to reinforce this impression.
Police in Malaysia cooperated with the Chinese investigation andLi was detained in the country on December 12. Liu was arrested inHunan and a coordinated operation by the police in both countriesresulted in the detention on a total of 349 suspects.
A total of 69 Chinese suspects have since been extradited to themainland.
