In an operation that involved more than a hundred law enforcement officers, eight people were arrested and ten women were taken into protective custody. The women are believed to have been trafficked from Taiwan and China and forced into prostitution:
The investigation began when a Hayward police officer followed up on neighborhood complaints of suspected prostitution activities in a home. The subsequent investigation revealed that the home was a part of a chain of Bay Area brothels where Asian immigrant women were being forced to work as prostitutes.While the investigation spans across several cities and counties, the eventual charges will all be filed in Alameda County because the law provides for related cases to be consolidated in one county. More here: Sex Ring Bust Rescues Enslaved Women: Police.
Investigators estimate that the brothel owners had brought dozens of women from Taiwan and China to the United States and forced them into prostitution.
Assistant District Attorney Sharmin Bock aid she is still reviewing "mountains of evidence" in the case and will decide next week on the specific charges she will file against the suspects.
