FROM AIM SWAT TEAM DIRECTOR:
At 6pm on Friday the 2nd of September, the Phnom Penh Municipal Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Police (AHTJP) supported by AIM SWAT (AIM Rescue Team) Officers executed a raid of a brothel fronting as a massage parlor near the Riverfront in Phnom Penh. The raid followed a month long covert investigation carried out jointly by the Municipal AHTJP and AIM SWAT Team (AIM Rescue Team).
During the raid, 3 suspected minors and 7 women were rescued with 2 suspected traffickers arrested. During the subsequent search of the building, various items of evidence were seized including a whiteboard on which were written the names of the girls and women and a tally system to denote how many men had sex with that girl that day. The board showed that one of the suspected minors had been forced to have sex with 18 men already that day up until the raid.
During interviews, the victims admitted being sold for sex to the profit of the traffickers and one of the suspected minors admitted to being 15 years old (although we suspect she is younger) and the other 2 are unsure of their ages. We will work to verify their ages in the coming weeks.
All 3 suspected minors have been transferred to AIM Restoration Home and both suspects have since been charged with child sex trafficking related offenses and remanded to prison to await trial. Our legal team will represent the minors throughout the court process.
For more information about AIM SWAT Team (AIM Rescue Team) and the work they do, click HERE.