Hanoi busts prostitution ring employing local, foreign women

Dang Van Nhan, 33, a native of northern Thai Binh Province, is under investigation for "prostitution brokerage."

According to investigators, in early 2020, Nhan started to connect young Vietnamese women with foreign men for sex.

He set up websites to post photos and information of those aside from running a Facebook group with more than 5,000 customers.

Later, he also recruited foreign women, most of them from the Philippines and Brazil.

Nhan charged his clients VND2.5-10 million ($110-440) each time, VND4-20 million for overnight services, and VND15 million per day for a "sex tour" that normally lasted three-five days.

He would get 30 percent of the payment and the women the rest.

His ring was busted on Jan. 14 as Hanoi police and officers from the Ministry of Public Security conducted a joint raid at a house in Thach That District and a condo in Cau Giay District, discovering couples having sex.

To run his business, Nhan had been using various unregistered sim cards to contact clients.

He also changed his residence frequently and used intermediary bank accounts to receive payments.

In Vietnam, sex work is considered social evil and brokering the service is a crime.