Traffickers bust in Japan

– Japanese police yesterday said they have arrested three people in a sex trafficking case involving Cambodian women and discovered 10 Thai women who may also be victims of the same prostitution ring.

Two Japanese men and a Thai woman were taken into custody after allegedly forcing the seven Cambodians, aged between 20 and 36, into prostitution.

The group was rescued from a restaurant in Gunma, northwest of Tokyo, last month after a victim made a desperate Facebook plea.

Police raided the restaurant and suspects’ homes, where they found another 10 women from Thailand, aged from 21 to 34.

Several of the women were detained for visa violations, a police spokesperson said in the first announcement of the arrest of the trio.

“But once they are determined to be victims of human trafficking, they’ll be released,” he said.

Japan has long been a destination for southeast Asian women seeking higher wages, who often find themselves forced into sex work or indentured labour.

The Cambodian women were allegedly lured to work at the restaurant in November with the promise of high wages by a Japanese owner who arranged visas and airfares for them. – AFP