Police have arrested one man and four women aged 35 to 45 in a crackdown on trafficking in people from Hong Kong for sexual purposes. They also seized evidence including air tickets, documents and photo albums.

Police mounted an operation against a number of local vice syndicates who they suspected had been luring local girls to offer sex services in overseas countries since the end of last year. They identified six local syndicates believed to have close connections with a number of overseas vice syndicates.

The local syndicates were suspected of arranging local girls to work as prostitutes in countries including Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Canada. Investigations revealed the Hong Kong syndicates had arranged accommodation and work places for the women and earned profits by charging handling fees to their overseas counterparts.

Australian Police, acting on intelligence provided by Hong Kong, arrested a Hong Kong couple in Melbourne last week. They were suspected of luring and threatening Hong Kong girls to provide sex services in Australia. They have been charged with slavery offences and brought before the court.