Austrian authorities bust Chinese human trafficking ring
Styrian police have exposed a human trafficking operation that forced Chinese women into prostitution. Three suspects, two men and one woman living in Vienna and Graz, have been arrested.
They stole the woman’s documents after arriving to Austria
They allegedly lured the women to Austria with promises of work, then stole their documents upon arrival and forced them into prostitution in brothels. The exact number of victims is unknown, but police believe the ring operated from late 2021 through early 2024.
Victims would often arrive in Vienna legally, then file asylum claims to gain work rights. Authorities believe the women might have initially known their reasons for traveling to Austria but were coerced upon arrival.
Raids resulted in the arrests and seizure of evidence. Despite most suspects denying involvement, one man reportedly admitted to some details corroborated by the evidence. Police fear other victims or witnesses may be afraid to come forward. The investigation is ongoing.
Read more about illegal prostitution and human trafficking in this industry
Just about a week ago, Sex Vienna reported a brothel operator in Graz who wanted to raise awareness against illegal prostitution in apartments. He dressed up mannequins as prostitutes and placed them at the front of his brothel. He did this because he is not impressed by the work of the local police authorities against illegal apartment prostitution, and the fines are also low in case the illegally working sex workers are caught red-handed. Read more about this here: Brothel owner in Graz demonstrates against illegal prostitution in a strange way
Also, not too long ago, a hotel owner called the police in Bad Wörishofen because he noticed that one of his renters uses the apartment for providing sexual services. He was right; the police officers found a guest who had sex with the 49-year-old prostitute. Read the whole story here: Sex worker was caught red-handed in illegal prostitution
Human trafficking causes huge problems not just for the whole industry, but for the victims themselves. A woman tried to take her own life in Mainz last time and later discovered that she was forced to work as an illegal prostitute. A big international investment followed her action, and a few days ago, police squads raided multiple locations in Bavaria, Rhineland, Spain, and Romania. Read the full article here: Suicide attempt of a sex worker triggered a huge raid on human traffickers across Europe