Police arrested 31 Chinese nationals and rescued 51 sex workers during a raid of a suspected prostitution den late Wednesday night in Parañaque City.
A composite police team swooped down on the Diamond Bay Tower building under construction along Roxas Boulevard in Baclaran village shortly before midnight, raiding the third floor where several massage parlors had been turned into sex rooms.
Thirteen suspected maintainers and 18 male customers, all Chinese nationals, were arrested in the operation conducted by operatives of the National Capital Region Police Office and the Parañaque City Police Station.
The raid was conducted in close coordination with the Parañaque City government led by Mayor Edwin Olivarez and the Bureau of Immigration. The raid resulted in the rescue of 51 young Chinese women who, the police suspect, were subjected by the syndicate to forced labor and prostitution.
Seven Filipinas were also placed under police custody while the 51 rescued women were turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Police recovered some evidence, including money amounting to P1.8 million as proceeds of the illegal activities at the raided building.
“The police operation stemmed from a report received by the NCRPO regarding an alleged prostitution den operated by Chinese personalities,” said NCRPO director Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar.
“A series of casing and surveillance were conducted which prompted a rescue and entrapment.”
There were reports that the Chinese women were engaged in the sex trade and were being paid by customers P9,000 to P22,000.
ABS-CBN News said the building had 30 ordinary rooms and 7 VIP rooms, which the patrons, most of them also Chinese, could rent. The place was operating from 5 p.m. until 5 a.m. and was extending its operating hours on weekends to serve more customers.
The reports also showed that Filipino customers could not enter the premises without a Chinese companion.
Olivarez said the place had no business license to operate but it had a building permit.
Eleazar said the latest raid in Parañaque City was part of the police and the national government’s continuing crackdown on sex trafficking in Metro Manila.
Early this month, two Chinese women were arrested in Makati City for sex trafficking. Police busted the racket following confidential information regarding a sex trade involving foreign nationals in San Antonio village. With Vito Barcelo
