JAKARTA: At least 6 people involved in a Vietnam gang accused of human trafficking have been detained, police told Bikyamasr.com on Tuesday afternoon via telephone. The gang allegedly took part in trafficking some 20 women and children to work as sex workers in China, other state media reports indicated. The arrests in Nam Dinh province included alleged ringleader Ngo Thi Hung Trang, 22, who was herself a victim of human trafficking in 2008, Thanh Nien newspaper reported. It said two of the victims were under 16 years old. Trang is accused of luring the women and children to China between 2010 and 2011 with the promise of work selling clothes and mobile phones. Once across the border, the victims were sold to brothels for 10 million dong (around 500 dollars) each. Nineteen of the women and children were rescued or escaped. An investigation is underway to rescue the remaining victim. The arrests have brought the plight of women and children within trafficking to the forefront of Vietnamese politics, with one deputy minister telling Bikyamasr.com on condition of anonymity that “this situation of trafficking people is becoming very difficult to understand. We must be vigilant in maintaining our police forces and our efforts to end these crimes.” The government added that they are looking into creating a task force to implement new strategies to crackdown on the abduction of people to be transporting to China and other Southeast Asian countries. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/gs2fn Tags: China, Sex Workers, Trafficking, Vietnam, Women Section: East Asia, Latest News, Southeast Asia, Women
