Hong Kong police and immigration officers arrested 21 women aged between 18 and 73 during an operation targeting illegal sex work in Yuen Long on Wednesday, 11 November.
The women were arrested on suspicion of breaching their conditions of stay and were being held for investigation, according to local reports published on 12 November. am730 reported that they were mainland Chinese nationals and, according to information it had obtained, all held permits for travel between mainland China and Hong Kong.
The operation, codenamed FLINTSTONE, involved Yuen Long district’s special duty squad and Immigration Department officers.
The oldest person arrested was a 73-year-old woman. HK01 reported, citing information it had obtained, that she was stopped while soliciting customers on the street. The outlet also reported that she was the oldest sex worker arrested on record in Yuen Long police district; that record claim has not been independently confirmed.
Police said they would continue to step up enforcement against illegal activities linked to sex work in the district and encouraged members of the public to report suspected illegal activity.
The arrests concern suspected breaches of conditions of stay. An arrest does not establish guilt, and the reports did not say that any of the women had been charged or convicted.
