Four women - three Russians and an Uzbek - have been arrested for suspected involvement in prostitution-related activities.
On Thursday, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) conducted simultaneous raids in the vicinity of Raffles Boulevard, Tanjong Katong Road and Cairnhill Road.
The officers arrested the women, aged between 26 and 39, who allegedly used their stay here on valid work passes to commit prostitution-related offences, CID said in a press release.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the vice syndicate has been advertising the sexual services of women on at least 10 online platforms, including Backpage, Skokka, Yelp and other dedicated vice websites, claiming to provide "high-class" escort services from $500 an hour.
During the operation, the police seized 13 mobile phones, four laptops, a tablet computer, condoms and documents.
Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that the women had uploaded sexy photos and videos of themselves in swimwear on escort websites. In one advertisement, "Ayla" described herself as "a mix of the Modern Luxury Courtesan and High-Class Singapore Escort combining elegance, passion and inspiring conversation".
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$500
The vice syndicate has been advertising the sexual services of women on at least 10 online platforms, including Backpage, Skokka, Yelp and other dedicated vice websites, claiming to provide "high-class" escort services from $500 an hour.
13
Number of mobile phones seized by the police during the operation. Four laptops, a tablet computer, condoms and documents were seized too.
Wanbao also reported that two of the women were taken to a Bella Casita condominium in Tanjong Katong to assist in police investigations.
Shin Min Daily News wrote that one of the women was around 1.7m tall, while the other was dressed in black and clutching a Hermes Birkin bag. It reported that a condominium resident, Mr Lu, 67, said the unit has been rented for about two years at $2,000 a month.
Mr Lu, who also volunteers as a security guard there, said he noticed that the women tend to leave at night by taxi and return in under two hours. He said he had asked them once where they were headed and was told they were going for happy hour. The 39-year-old will be charged in court with offences under the Women's Charter today. Investigations are ongoing in the other three cases.
Under the Women's Charter, anyone who knowingly lives entirely, or in part, on the earnings of the prostitution of another person is liable to up to five years' imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000.
