Macau’s Judiciary Police (PJ) have busted a case involving a criminal syndicate suspected of using sauna premises as a cover to run prostitution activities.
During the operation, three sauna establishments were sealed and 26 individuals involved in the case were arrested. Among those detained are three high-ranking officers from the Public Security Police Force (PSP), drawing significant public attention.
The Judiciary Police said they had initiated a follow-up investigation as early as 2019 and launched a joint raid on 4 June. The operation successfully dismantled a criminal syndicate suspected of controlling prostitution under the guise of operating saunas. During the raid, law enforcement officers searched three saunas, five offices and other locations across the Macau Peninsula and Taipa, involving a total of 23 premises.
During the operation, police arrested 26 men and women from Macau, mainland China and Hong Kong, including one ringleader and 25 core members. Among the arrestees, in addition to the three active-duty PSP officers, two retired PJ officers were also found to be involved in the case. Furthermore, police brought an additional 381 individuals back to the police station for further investigation. Account books, price lists and a large quantity of items suspected to be related to sexual transactions were seized at the scene.
Investigations revealed that the criminal syndicate is suspected of disguising its operations as spa and massage services to recruit women from Asia and Eastern Europe to provide sexual services. It is understood that each transaction cost between MOP$2,000 and MOP$8,000 (US$248 and US$992), with the sex workers receiving a cut of approximately MOP$1,000 to MOP $2,000 (US$124 to US$248) per transaction.
The Judiciary Police believe that the syndicate’s illicit earnings last year reached as high as MOP$240 million to MOP$320 million (US$30 million to US$40 million).
Two of the three saunas are said to be widely known in Macau, namely the One Sauna located inside The Landmark Macau hotel as well as the Darling Sauna.
It has also been disclosed that multiple active-duty and retired law enforcement officers are suspected of accepting massive bribes as “protection fees.”
They allegedly tipped off the criminal syndicate regarding inspections and law enforcement operations on a regular basis, helping the implicated venues evade police raids. According to disclosures by the authorities, the cumulative bribes received by some of the implicated personnel amounted to several million patacas.
Currently, the suspects have been charged with multiple offenses including organized crime, controlling prostitution and accepting bribes. Regarding the specific identities of the suspects and the locations of the premises involved, the authorities stated that since the case is still in the investigation stage, this information has not yet been disclosed and will be announced later depending on the circumstances.
