FIRST RAID – MASSAGE PARLOR
During the mid-afternoon on Wednesday, July 19th, the Phnom Penh Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Police (AHTJP), together with AIM SWAT Officers, raided a brothel fronting as a massage parlor. AIM SWAT had information that minors were being held at a nearby house 50 yards from the brothel, so that location was raided simultaneously. During the raids, 2 minors and 8 women were rescued, and 2 suspected traffickers were arrested.
Both locations were officially closed by local authorities after the search and seizure of evidence inside. During post-rescue interviews, all victims shared that they had been sold for sex to the profit of the traffickers who are a Vietnamese married couple. The two minors were transferred to AIM Restoration Home, and the suspects were sent to court and subsequently charged with child sex trafficking related offenses. They will remain in prison while awaiting trial.
SECOND RAID – BARBER SHOP
During the evening of the same day, officers from AIM SWAT Team and the AHTJP Police executed a raid at another brothel which had been fronting as a barber shop in central Phnom Penh. The raid followed a covert surveillance operation lasting more than 2 weeks which showed that minors were being sold for sex inside the shop.
During the raid, 4 minors and 1 adult were rescued and the manager of the shop was arrested. During post-rescue interviews, all victims shared that they had been sold for sex at the shop to the profit of the manager, who has subsequently been taken to court and charged with child sex trafficking related offenses. The brothel was officially closed by local authorities following the raid, and the manager will remain in prison until his trial.
