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Law enforcement officials in Texas unearthed a sex trafficking scheme allegedly orchestrated by a Chinese couple.
Jie Li, 31, and his girlfriend Xiaojing Ke, 25, are accused of recruiting Chinese women and bringing them to the U.S. for prostitution. Authorities told Twin Cities Pioneer Press these women would then be sent to Texas, Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado or Louisiana and as prostitutes. This whole operation would be carried out on a chatting and messaging app called WeChat.
The couple is charged with sex-trafficking charges of the felony-level.
The law enforcement official unearthed the scheme, which reportedly involved a number of massage parlors and hotels in multiple states.
Imran Ali, assistant Washington County Attorney and director of the East Metro Sex Trafficking Task Force, spoke about the complexity and potential reach of the sex trafficking operation.
“This is a complex sex-trafficking operation spread over [five states]," he said. "We also suspect that this scheme is not just operating in the U.S., but it is spread over many other countries as well.”
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