Police in Ho Chi Minh City have broken up a high-end prostitution ring known for offering intimate encounters with local models and actresses at prices reaching thousands of U.S. dollars.

Officers under the municipal Department of Police confirmed on Thursday that dozens of local models and actresses had been implicated in the bust.

Police say the illegal operation was run by Nguyen Thi Tien, 33, her younger sister, 31-year-old Nguyen Thi Ngoc, and another accomplice named Pham Thi Thanh Huyen, 32.

Initial statements reveal that Ngoc and Tien worked as event hosts and model managers, while Ngoc is former runner-up in a local beauty pageant.

While working as managers, the pair persuaded several of the models and actresses they worked with to begin offering sexual services at prices between US$700 and $2,500.

Following an investigation, police units carried out a sudden raid at Minh Tam Hotel, located on 3/2 Street in District 10 and Hoang Hai Lam Hotel on Pham Hong Thai Street in District 1, at around 11:30 pm on Tuesday.

Members of the prostitution ring are held at the police station. Photo: the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Police

Officers caught four of the prostitutes red-handed exchanging sexual services with customers.

The detainees claimed they were offering prostitution services at the two hotels at prices ranging from VND15 million ($657) to VND30 million ($1,315).

Officers are extending their investigation into the case.

In a report submitted to the National Assembly on July 25, Huynh Thanh Khiet, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, stated the agency only had profiles for 180 prostitutes in the city.

Among them, 25 percent are aged 16 to 27, 27 percent are between 28 and 37 years old, while male, homosexual, and transsexual sex workers account for 20 percent.

Several prostitution rings that involve models and actors have also been discovered across the metropolis, Khiet added.

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