ĐỒNG THÁP — Police in the southern province of Đồng Tháp have arrested a woman in connection with a human trafficking crime.

The woman, identified as Trần Thị Xen, 32, from the northern province of Lào Cai’s Bảo Thắng District, confessed to the police that she became unexpectedly acquainted with Phạm Thanh Sang, 31, living in Đồng Tháp Province’s Lai Vung District in 2015.

Xen then asked Sang to look for young girls in the western region to send them to China for prostitution. Sang subsequently approached several locals, urging them to entice poor young women.

From March to April 2015, Sang cheated seven women from Vĩnh Long, Đồng Tháp, An Giang, Hậu Giang and Cần Thơ, and sent them to Xen in China.

Some of the victims managed to escape and reported the incident to the police.

Early in April this year, Sang was detained for involving in human trafficking. During the investigation, on May 14, provincial police in coordination with the Criminal Police Department and the Border Guard Force arrested Xen in Lào Cai Province upon her return from China.

Xen confessed that her husband had opened a massage facility in China near the Vietnamese border.

After collecting seven women from Việt Nam, Xen rented them out to owners of brothels at VNĐ30-70 million (US$1,330-3,100) per month, depending on the beauty of the victims.

The victims were badly exploited and anxious to return home.

However, Xen asked the victims’ families to pay a ransom of VNĐ50-100 million ($2,200-4,400) to get them back.

The police are expanding their investigation to ascertain the responsibility of those involved. — VNS