In a campaign called "Sword Edge" on Wednesday, police in
Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong
Province, closed down 87 suspected prostitution dens, arrested
39 suspects and detained 135 others for minor offences.
500 police officers were mobilized in the campaign, targeting
prostitution, gambling, online pornography and fake
certificates.
On Yongping Street in Baiyun District, 31 gambling machines were
seized and 11 suspects arrested.
The police also arrested two suspected drug users and two hotel
owners. At an unlicensed mobile phone shop in Jiefangzhuang, police
confiscated 28 stolen mobile phones and 80 SIM cards.
In the evening, Yongping Street police arrested 11 suspected sex
workers in a hotel.
They raided 87 rooms housing prostitutes and procurers, closed
322 unlicensed hairdressing parlors (often used as a front for
prostitution in China), and shut down 157 unlicensed recreation
venues.
The procurers had sought customers for the prostitutes on
streets or handed out cards on which their telephone numbers were
printed, police said.
(Shenzhen Daily October 21, 2005)