HCMC cops bust beauty queen sex ring

By Quoc Thang September 15, 2023 | 05:40 pm PT

Nguyen Thanh Liem (2nd, L) and Ha Thi Van Anh at a police station in HCMC, September 15, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Nhat Vy

The HCMC police have busted a prostitution ring involving former beauty queens after stumbling across it while investigating another involving flight attendants.

They arrested Nguyen Thanh Liem, 34, and Ha Thuy Van Anh, 23, on Friday for investigation for allegedly procuring sex.

They had been investigating a prostitution case busted in August in which a former flight attendant, Vo Thi My Hanh, 26, was allegedly brokering sex services for her colleagues, who charged clients US$1,000-3,000.

Officers discovered that the two rings were affiliated.

Anh, reportedly the mastermind, and Liem are accused of offering prostitution services for VND45-200 million ($1,850-8,240) and taking a cut of VND20-50 million.

Nguyen Thanh Hung, head of the city criminal police division, said officers recently raided a building on Nguyen Van Linh Street in District 7 and a hotel in Binh Chanh District, where they found four couples engaging in paid sex.

They included two beauty queens aged 36 and 27, who respectively offer sex for $10,000, and VND45 million.

Authorities said Anh and Lam often rent luxury apartments for sex work.