5 Seattle men charged in bust of prostitution ring
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Federal agents and Seattle police say they have broken up a sophisticated ring that has for years lured young women from Asia with the promise of a better life in the United States, only to make them virtual sex slaves in brothels in Seattle and Portland. Five Seattle men, a man from Portland and a man and a woman from Los Angeles were arrested Tuesday night in the culmination of a two-year investigation that was complicated by the extraordinary secrecy of the brothel operators, John McKay, U.S. attorney for Western Washington, said at a news conference yesterday. McKay would not say how many women have been brought into the country from China, Vietnam, Korea, Malaysia, Laos and Thailand, though 14 women are being held in federal custody, half of them in Seattle, where three brothels were uncovered. McKay said many of the women had no idea they would be forced into prostitution. “These women are victims,” McKay said. “The pattern of exploitation . . . is clear.” More : seattlepi.nwsource.com |