Late afternoon of Friday, September 1st, officers from the Phnom Penh Municipal Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Police (AHTJPP), supported by AIM SWAT officers, conducted a raid at a brothel fronting as a massage parlor in central Phnom Penh.
We had received information that minors were being sold at this brothel, so a covert surveillance operation was conducted with the AHTJPP. It didn’t take long to collect enough proof that this was an illegal brothel, so the Phnom Penh prosecutor granted authority to raid the brothel. Two minors and four adult women were rescued during the raid, and one suspected trafficker was arrested.
Following the search for and seizure of evidence, the premise was officially closed by police. During interviews, victims shared that they were being sold for sex to customers to the profit of the suspect arrested, who was subsequently taken to court and charged with child sex trafficking related offenses.
The victims have been transferred to the Phnom Penh District Social Affairs Office and other safe locations, including AIM Restoration Home, where they can begin their recovery.
