California: Pimping Network Uncovered
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA--Two men, suspected of running a brothel in Pacifica and other Bay Area cities, were arrested in Colorado Tuesday.
Kwor "Tom" Chou, 29, the so-called brothel "regional manager" and his assistant, Ri Luo, 42, were both arrested on warrants obtained by the Pacifica Police Department. They face felony charges of pimping, pandering and conspiracy.
A third man, who worked as their Webmaster and advertiser, has not been charged. Police are also likely to seek prostitution charges against several young women in their 20s suspected of working out of an apartment on the 200 block of Gateway Drive, as well as other females being prostituted out of two apartment locations in Cupertino and a third Foster City apartment in connection with the operation.
A sting operation was conducted Tuesday in Denver, Colo., with law enforcement agents arresting Chou's common-law wife, who is suspected of setting up appointments via the Internet and telephone. Pacifica police were set to conduct similar raids in Pacifica, Cupertino and Foster City with help from Chinese translators from Broadmoor, South San Francisco and San Bruno police departments until they determined over the weekend that the two local men had traveled to Colorado.
"Operation Gilded Cage," a San Francisco task force made up of federal, state and local law enforcement officials, late last year focused on investigating and arresting pimps engaged in smuggling young Korean women into the United States for illegal sex trade.
The women in such operations aresupplied with fake identification and other documents and smuggled into the country via the Mexican border. Once in the country, they are forced to work as sex workers to repay their debts that can range upward of $30,000 to $40,000. A special report on the "sex slave trade" was recounted in a multiple-part series published earlier this year in the SF Chronicle.
Read the full article at InsideBayArea.com
Kwor "Tom" Chou, 29, the so-called brothel "regional manager" and his assistant, Ri Luo, 42, were both arrested on warrants obtained by the Pacifica Police Department. They face felony charges of pimping, pandering and conspiracy.
A third man, who worked as their Webmaster and advertiser, has not been charged. Police are also likely to seek prostitution charges against several young women in their 20s suspected of working out of an apartment on the 200 block of Gateway Drive, as well as other females being prostituted out of two apartment locations in Cupertino and a third Foster City apartment in connection with the operation.
A sting operation was conducted Tuesday in Denver, Colo., with law enforcement agents arresting Chou's common-law wife, who is suspected of setting up appointments via the Internet and telephone. Pacifica police were set to conduct similar raids in Pacifica, Cupertino and Foster City with help from Chinese translators from Broadmoor, South San Francisco and San Bruno police departments until they determined over the weekend that the two local men had traveled to Colorado.
"Operation Gilded Cage," a San Francisco task force made up of federal, state and local law enforcement officials, late last year focused on investigating and arresting pimps engaged in smuggling young Korean women into the United States for illegal sex trade.
The women in such operations aresupplied with fake identification and other documents and smuggled into the country via the Mexican border. Once in the country, they are forced to work as sex workers to repay their debts that can range upward of $30,000 to $40,000. A special report on the "sex slave trade" was recounted in a multiple-part series published earlier this year in the SF Chronicle.
Read the full article at InsideBayArea.com
posted by Sarah G. at 10:04 AM
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